Project Sleipnir
by Dark Gear
Summary: A marine is hit by an ancient forerunner artifact that puts him in a mech like armor capable of heavy assault, and used to back up the Master Chief. PLEASE READ DISCLAIMER. ALTERED CH1
1. Military Intelligence

-1Project Sleipnir

Disclaimer: I do not own Halo nor any characters that starred in Halo, nor do I own certain technologies I was impressed by in other games (one being Master of Orion 2, and I will mention them at the end of each chapter with a few descriptions for any tech heads out there). The only characters that I own are the ones I have created as backup to the ones in the game. Any similarities to characters live or fictional owned or created by others is purely coincidental. As for the mech like armor, I personally like the look of Heavy Gears from the RPG Heavy Gear created by Dream Pod 9 and ACs from Armored Core Series, so that is the look of the armor. If there is any other problems arising that I did not address I apologize for not putting them in and will do so if given notice. All ideas used to make this story progress and all the information and people created are either owned by Halo or by me. Plagiarism will not be accepted (get your own ideas on your stories please.) REVISION INFORMATION PLACED thanks for the wait all, however I noticed I was being plagiarized by a TheSilentWinter, copying all of my first 3 chapters (excluding the master chief information) and altering the wording somewhat, but basically all the story is still there, including a (spoiler) line of Garrett talking about liquid nitro down his pants. I do not condone this, get your own damned ideas for stories, I made this story from MY mind, and I simply set it in the halo universe to add a bit more interest. Please, I understand most people who read this are other writers, yes you may gain ideas for your own stories, but do not steal things from people where we work so hard to write these. We expect criticism to work harder and alter our errors, not someone taking our thoughts and making them their own, and not giving you credit. Power to the creative minded, and I feel sorry for those who must steal from another to feel noticed. Now, on with the story, and for all those who send reviews to me, I hate flames, I want criticism, of course this will not be realistic for the most part, it's in a game universe, and technology is way out there. The criticism I will use to better my writing skills, as you would expect. As for the paragraphs, yes, somewhat mashed, but it was a way I noticed some other writers used that I am quite a fan to (I give credit to Harman Meyerhoff if you ever read this, APAGEAR II online website writer, for inspiring my writing and sense of humor) anyways, read on…

"God, I hate this cold" Lieutenant Garrett Gryphen sat bunched up in his little foxhole he made a couple of days earlier. It wasn't much, but it helped somewhat against the wind on Valeius. It was about 10 degrees below zero, but the way things were going it felt more like someone had poured liquid nitro into his pants to see if he would say hello to the world. He had a few supplies, nothing much: a few blankets, a combat knife that was chipped at the hilt, his MA6B Battle Rifle with half a clip in it, four extra clips and an M6D pistol that looked like it had seen better days. The Marines on this colony had been fighting for nine weeks straight, and no matter how much the covies pounded on them, they simply would not budge.

The weird thing was, the covenant could have bombarded the place to hell and back twenty times over if they wanted to. The UNSC fleets in the area were either destroyed long ago, escaped to neighboring planets, or were sent to protect Earth, leaving the grunts planet side with as many provisions as they could spare. Garrett blew into his hands as he saw the familiar figure of a warthog rumble out on the distance. The distinctive sound of the chains on the wheels somehow made things feel a bit reassuring. Not that it mattered much; the covenant had found it easier to just use infantry instead of vehicles as there was too much snow.

Most hover vehicles that were dropped for the alien ground pounders found that the turbofans and anti-grav systems either clogged or froze, not that the warthogs and scorpions fared any better. The warthogs did still work, but only because of the little heat the engine could give off and three times as much maintenance a day. _Make sure you don't run through my pit you crazy bastard _Garrett thought to himself. There had been more than one occasion when a warthog had nearly run him over in his frozen dirt womb. There was even a time when one was hit by a barker, and flipped over and nearly pinned him in his spot.

The good news was that it provided some fantastic defense and he hosed a few grunts and four elites trying to push through. The bad news was it had started to leak gas into the hole and he couldn't get out until someone helped him. "Alpha six three zero do you copy, over" chirped over his com set. "This is Alpha six three zero to Zulu command." The static buffers were having a field day with trying to cut through the weather.

"Garrett, how's it hangin out there? Any sign of them?" Garrett peeked over the lip of his pit to spy on the surroundings for a brief second, and then ducked down again. Keeping your head up for a second was okay for reconnaissance; leaving your head up there was making yourself a target. "Nothing yet, but the show isn't over. We still have a parade waiting for them." Static flared as he finished speaking, and he couldn't make out the first couple of words from command.

"Last transmission breaking up, come back over" he responded. Not having the info is never a good thing. "Your guard duty is hittin nineteen now, you should come back and get warmed up. We'll send another to relieve you." Garrett felt relieved. He had spent almost a full day in the frozen wasteland with not even a sign of the enemy.

This was a bad thing. They usually attacked once a day, but mostly repelled. As he chirped in a response to get a bunk set up, he heard a faint sound of crunching in the distance. His hearing was always good, and it saved his life and his comrades more than once. Feet upon snow about sixty feet away from him, and there were multiple pairs.

He gripped his gun. There was no way relief could get here that quickly.

Zeras'Aldes moved as carefully as he could with his escort of hunters and jackals, but with all the snow around it was difficult to move without making a loud crunch sound. He couldn't see anything out in the light blizzard, but he knew where he was going. His trackers had pin pointed the human base and he was going in to assess the situation. Recon was not exactly glorious, but it was essential. "C'mon you laggers move quicker or the prophets will have our heads! We must gain this intelligence or we'll never find the cache of artifacts! Move!" and with that, he kicked one of the jackals in the ass.

The jackal brought his shield over his head and jogged forward a bit faster, screaming in the process for a short moment. _What imbeciles I'm stuck with _he thought. He could be in a blazing battle, rending humans' limb from limb, but he was stuck with a group of horribly trained recon units. His gold armor had a few marks and battle medals for his devotion to the prophets, and yet he was still put with gathering intelligence. He stopped for a moment and scanned his surroundings.

This was the least guarded flank, mostly infantry as the human vehicles were kept closer to the buildings to keep maintained. That left quite a few Marines in the area to fight if they got heard. But where were they? All he could see was snow, rocks and trees. Not a living thing around.

Not that he minded, it just felt like he was walking in unaware. He was at the coordinates given to him, but he didn't know where the base was. Just when he was going to turn and head the party left, the lead hunter's back became pock marked with rifle fire. He dived to the ground and rolled then dashed to a boulder for cover. He threw a plasma grenade just as a jackal flew through the air from a frag hit nearby.

The others fired wildly while gaining cover. Looks like he was going to see action after all.

Garrett sprayed the area in front of him with his rifle, emptied his clip, and loaded a fresh one, all while pulling out another grenade. The other marines nearby followed similar actions and opened a hail of biting metal wind. He locked the clip in place and peered from his well concealed hidey hole. The plates planted on top of his hole with snow on them provided the best camo ever, and he could still pop up from an area that was obscured by a bush. He still couldn't believe that that bush was still alive even in this winter.

He opened fire again, hit a jackal in the leg, saw it buckle, and saw another bullet pierce the opening in its shield and into the jackals chest. Purple blood spurted out like a geyser onto the ground as the bullet shredded clean through and pinged off of the shields of the gold elite. The elite rolled to better cover and threw another grenade on top of a fox hole. The marine shot out of it as fast as he could, but was cut down by fuel rod guns. The others continued to return fire, but the jackals were dropping like flies.

Suddenly, an opening for the elite! The Gold armored behemoth shot for it and ran. The others tried to follow, but few made it through. "Don't let him get away Lieutenant. We need what info he has. There has to be a reason for them not glassing us." _Easy for you to say. You're not out here pissing off a few hunters._

"Cover me" Garrett yelled as he pressed a button on his helmet for his squad to break and follow him. The remaining marines threw as many grenades as they could then continued their barrage. Most of his squad made it through, but one PFC took a plasma bolt through the left leg and was grounded, right next to a foxhole which he was pulled into. A nearby bunker roared to life with three chain guns taken from destroyed warthogs. The few jackals that followed the elite were cut down, but the hunters continued on, thoroughly angry.

Garrett chased after, pulling his pistol and taking shots at the hunter's backs. They knew better. All the hunters arched up and tilted their armor to allow better protection of their backs. It left their front stomach area open, but no one was firing from that angle were they? Garrett ran as hard as he could, his squad mates laying waste one at a time to the hunters.

They eventually reached a small forest area, and there the elite stopped. He turned and got ready for a charge. If this was to be his fate, he would rather die than give in to being a prisoner to the humans. And at that moment, the ground fell out from under him and the remaining three hunters, as well as under the marines. Apparently the gunfire hitting into the ground caused a cave away, and into an area not known.

Garrett fell into darkness, then hit the ground and lost consciousness from the impact. Wherever he was, he was an easy target.

(So… Garrett is in an unknown area and now he gets knocked out. "Murphy's Law: what can go wrong, will go wrong" goes well here. A perfectly planned mission comes crashing to the ground. But where is he? Barker: a mine with a cone like blast radius that sounds similar to a dog barking when it goes off. Normally used against lightly armored vehicles or infantry, but can be modified to deliver heavier ordinance in the area of effect.


	2. Race for the Ancients

-1The Master Chief sat and stared at the new stripes he had earned after protecting Earth from the failed covenant assault. It was a difficult battle, and one that cost humanity dearly in lives. He had been promoted before, to Major, so his previous rank didn't seem to fit anymore. He was so used to it though. He had been a Master Chief ever since the Spartans were brought into the lime light of the media. Now that he had been promoted, the yell outs of marines nearby were somehow not fitting him. "Mornin Commander" or "Good to see you Major" or even a Navy Master Chief Grissen saluting him was somewhat odd. He would eventually have to get used to it just like his last rank. Due in fact that the UNSC was entirely a mixed bag of Navy, Marines and Army, all ranks were merged together and reorganized, allowing him to continue up in ground command and still not gain a desk job.

"Something wrong? You're being abnormally quiet today. Normally you're asking me about any new info from the covenant com channels to assist in your next mission" Cortana piped up in his mind. He was brought out of whatever fantasy world he was in and brought back on track. "What? Oh, nothing. Never mind it. What's the current situation on the station?" Cortana spoke up after a few seconds of reading through some data logs. "It appears that the covenant is trying to gain any new data on artifacts from the forerunners from us. As if we knew any that is, otherwise we'd be using them on the alien bastards." The Spartan was stunned for a moment. He had never really heard Cortana swear, or maybe he never noticed it. "Have they found anything though?" He suddenly asked after a second or two of the AI pausing. "Nothing that I can be certain, but you can bet they aren't going to leave the station either. It's a critical staging point for at least three major supply routes to the reestablished colonies, and that could mean a blockade for as many as seven to twelve planets in need. We need to bring that station under control soon, or those new colonies are going to be toast."

He poked his head up from the seat he was in and looked out one of the Albatross's windows. The Albatross was a larger, boxier version of the Pelican that carried two extra missile launchers and no chin gun, but also carried a turret flak gun on top and chaff launchers in the rear. The cargo space was also increased to carry up to sixty marines, but no vehicles. The Albatross was designed for delivering reinforcements in space, and was never intended for atmospheric flight.

The station was coming closer now, and the other drop ships were moving right along side him and his forty five heavily armored ODSTs. "Lock and load people, get ready for some tunnel running!" yelled a Sergeant in the back. The Major brought his gun up, loaded a clip, turned off the safety and got ready for docking. The station was just a few meters away, and then suddenly, they were there. They landed in what was labeled cargo bay six E.

The Major and the rest of the marines saw twelve Echo IX missiles flare and scrap a few shade turrets that the covenant had set up in the area, and then landed. The rest of the drop ships landed in other corresponding bays to spread out the enemies defenses. The Major jumped out and ran, already training his gun on a nearby Brute and letting loose. The ODSTs were also following suite, making quick work of what was guarding that area. Once the guards were downed, the marines were capable of evaluating there situation. They had lost three men so far, and they had to link up with sister teams two and four, then move toward power cores two, five and nine then disable them. Once that was done, Cortana would download what she could of the covenant access codes and disable any internal defenses and anything else the covenant could use.

"Okay, I've isolated six areas in the station where most of the covenant are stationed, so unless you want a fire fight, I suggest you don't open those doors. The enemy should stay contained in those areas until a better equipped force comes to deal with them. For now, head into the hall and turn left, then look for and access hatch to the personnel lifts and head down. Once at the bottom I can break the locking systems and get us to core six" Cortana piped up.

The armored man acknowledged and ran toward the door to the hallway, picking up a needler and a few plasma grenades. He scouted out the hallway then entered, followed by the rest of his team. As he neared the access hatch, he heard something on the other side. He opened the hatch to find a lift go right by. "You didn't tell me the lifts were still functioning Cortana" He grumbled. "Well, you never asked, and I haven't had much time to stop them now have I?" The Major shook his head slightly then moved in. "That was the only one in this pathway, and it was going up, so you shouldn't have any trouble with it unless you dawdle." The Major jumped in and grabbed onto the ladder leading down. He had to go twenty floors before reaching the hatch he needed for core number six, and he didn't want the lift saying hello again. The rest of the marines followed suite and came right above the Spartan.

As they reached the bottom and the hatch as well, the marines started to hear something up above. The lift was coming down! The Spartan smashed the hatch open to find two jackals startled and bump into each other as they saw the armored behemoth. He quickly shot his hands out and grabbed the two aliens, then threw them in through the hatch and down another twenty floors. He jumped through and heard clambering of marines down the ladder, some sliding to better move out quicker. When the last marine got out, the lift floated by again. "Jesus Christ! That was a close one!" A New Yorker an accent startled out. The Major moved further down the hallway and to a door marked "Power control: C6" and got the marines into position. He opened the door and found twelve Brutes, four hunters that looked like they were wearing some sort of odd helmet (potentially mind control) and a group of about sixteen jackals in the area, all oblivious to the door just opening. The Major pulled out three frag grenades and a couple of plasmas and stuck the plasmas to a few jackals that ran right at the Brutes. The frags detonated and the remaining jackals and Brutes blew up to the second level of the control room, but the hunters were raving mad and firing everything they had at the door.

The marines pulled back and waited for a moment to get at the backs of the giants, and the opportunity presented itself. One of the hunters walked out and tried to smash a marine into the wall, but he dived out of the way and got a clip of AP rounds in his fleshy orange back. A low groan was heard by the thing as it went down, and the other hunters inside moaned a low warble, then shelled the door a few more times. The marines and the major were not going to lose anymore people in this mission, so they threw together whatever grenades they had spare and a block of CN20 plastique with some locking tape, and then threw the package into the room. Most of the electronics was reinforced from explosions and spatial decompression, so it almost all survived, but the flesh of the hunters couldn't with stand the blast of the explosion and they didn't have the strength to keep their armor in place when the blast wave hit. Their shields were blown out of the way of vulnerable areas, and the fragmentation shards impacted. After waiting three seconds, the marines entered and found three ragged large forms lying on the ground.

They immediately got to work. Five marines were posted to guard the door and laid sensor mines nearby in the hallway, and then engaged the IFF coding to differentiate between ally and covenant. The rest became busy with cutting wires and moving circuits around. Cortana began analyzing what she could from the covenant com holds and rewiring attempts. Her form appeared on one of the control panels, with a new look now. Ever since captured covenant technology was being retrofitted, things for the humans had been slightly improving, and that meant good things for smart AIs like Cortana. She no longer had the seven to eight year insanity descent that she might have had without the upgrades. She also had a far more human look, and no longer had data floating through her body, only her eyes when gaining information. She now wore clothing, a short skirt with a black tube top and a bluish vest. She had on high heels as well, given her a slightly taller look, even when she was six inches on a control panel. "I think I have something… wait a minute. Give me a chance to access…" She said hesitantly. The visored human took a look around the area. The core room was huge, easily dwarfing that of an engine room in a large cruiser, and to think that there were fifteen of them on this station…

"I think I have it… the reason why the covenant came here is to gain information about a colony we hadn't lost in the outer establishment areas. They're looking for a secret cache from an old prophecy… hang on… it appears the marines there have been fighting a trench war. The covenant hasn't been able to break through with ground forces and is too afraid to bombard the planet and lose the cache… but what is in that cache that they want so bad?" The Major shrugged. "Anyway, we have to get to the other cores before we can deal with this. Let us continue… there, the core is brought to a new control router. Isis should be allowed to retake control of the systems here." Isis was the onboard AI that the station had and could not be destroyed or taken apart without the place engaging all defenses and losing life support, plus engaging a lock down to seal in everything. It was provided as a safety precaution in case all of the crew was killed and the covenant tried to take any information from her.

The Major plugged Cortana back into his neck like it was routine now, which it just so happened to be. The Major had been given her as an official partner now, and they were almost inseparable. Cortana seemed a little bit more intimate these past few months, though, and listened intently on just about everything John said. He of course thought it was to ascertain what could be done at a later time for another given situation, but lately she seemed a bit more… caring. The rest of the marines clipped off their portable CAD Mainframes and got ready to rumble again. "On to core two…" he said to himself.

(So the Chief is now the Major and the covenant have a new quest to defeat the humans with a cache of… what? Weapons? Technology? Information? Or maybe Pink panty hose and chocolate covered Cornflakes? Ignore that last one. CAD Mainframe: a portable NNet capable of compiling and cracking vast amounts of data in a rather short period of time. They are not AIs per se, but can read and write data at a far faster rate, as that is mostly their main function. They don't need to interact with humans, and therefore do not need voice convergence cluttering up their entry systems. They are still capable of being cracked easily by AIs, however, and are usually isolated from outside connections and wiped clean once the work is done.)


	3. The Tunnels Below

-1Garrett woke up to a very high pitched humming sound. His head really hurt and he felt that his left arm might be dislocated. He looked around from where he had landed. The place was eerie. It was dark yet still had lights high above, and the tunnel he seemed to have landed in was huge. Multiple grates covered extra smaller tunnels along the walls and what looked to be tower like objects were pulsating in the middle of the tunnel. He tried to get up, and his theory on whether his shoulder was dislocated was proven. He crumbled to the ground, dizzy from the pain. He tried to clear his head and wait for the dizziness to go away, but it only slightly faded.

He looked around for something to wedge his hand into, found a small bar on the wall, and tied a strap from his rifle around his hand. He then tied the other piece of the strap that seemed to prove his rifle was else where and not with him to the bar and got ready. He breathed in deep and ran backwards, trying his best to ignore the pain. It was quite unbearable for a few seconds, and then he heard a pop and the pain subsided. His dislocated shoulder had popped back into place, but it was still tender to the touch. He unsnapped his left shoulder armor because it started to make the tender flesh annoy him, then ascertained what else his condition pushed on him. His rifle seemed to be gone and half the grenades he was carrying either went with it or he used on the way here, meaning he had about six left on his bandolier, and his pistol was still with him. He looked around for his knife, and found the thing snapped in its small sheath halfway under a boulder.

As he looked up from where he was standing, he saw the slide marks of where he had come from along the sloping wall. He had fallen a good fifty feet, but the slope had paused him briefly enough to survive the fall. He sighted where he had probably hit a jut from the wall, landed on it and stopped his fall, and then had it break under his weight and fall the rest of the way. He was lucky enough to be alive let alone capable of moving or fighting. He didn't think the other marines were so lucky with so much snow and rubble around, most likely buried or crushed under all of it. "Some climbing gear would be music to my ears right about now" he grumbled to himself. He looked around one more time, found another hole in the tunnel, and continued on. He might be able to find a way out of here and get an evac, but the problem was he couldn't exactly navigate correctly without his helmet functioning. He pressed a few buttons on the side to no avail, shook his head and winced and a piece of fabric cushioning inside touched a sensitive cut. He didn't have time to worry about nicks and bruises, he had to leave this place and report in before something else happened or… "The elite. Shit, where is that bastard? I nearly had him" he cursed to himself. The elite was probably in the same predicament as he was, and had maybe better weaponry, if he hadn't lost his rifle like Garrett did.

He continued through the tunnels, careful not to make any noise. Being trained for special ops had its advantages, and this was one of them. Sneaking to ambush was fine, but sneaking to find a way out of an unknown area that could have traps and might be an enemy installation with hostiles perhaps all around was better, if you don't want to get caught or seen of course. He came to a T junction and pressed himself against the left wall to peek to the right with out popping his head out. He could hear something around the corner, but he couldn't tell what it was until… Hunter. Only one, and it looked injured, but he didn't want to take one on despite it being crippled in one leg. He slowly pulled out his pistol and turned the safety off, careful to make as little noise as possible. He aimed and attempted to get a shot at the back, which was unprotected at the moment. Right at that moment a piece of rubble broke under his foot and he lost his chance. The hunter turned, he fired, and the bullet ricocheted off the armor to strike the wall. The hunter saw Garrett as he ducked back and fired his fuel rod cannon. The shot blew a hole in the wall and threw bits of metal and melted circuitry everywhere. Garrett dived just in time, and not a second too late. He could feel the heat from the melted hole, and cursed again that he didn't have his rifle. He lobbed a grenade around the corner and heard an explosion, and the hunter jumped around the corner! Apparently he was pushed forward by the explosion, and Garrett swore as he jumped by the behemoth. The hunter tried to turn, but Garrett was already around him and pressing a second grenade under the armored backside, pinning it to the alien's spine, and ran for his life. He hoped the monster couldn't turn fast enough to fire off another shot before the grenade blew. He saw another intersection, slid and turned, then his instincts kicked in and he ducked/dodged/jinked into the right section tunnel. The grenade blew a second before, and the fuel rod gun's capacitor overloaded by the destruction of many components caused an even larger explosion, letting a heat wave flow down the hall. Garrett was out of the way only to see the wave of fire shoot by him, and felt the excess heat nearby. "I don't get paid enough for this shit, I don't get paid enough for this shit, I don't…" he repeated over and over again, panting on the ground. He was somewhat proud of himself that he had gone toe to toe with a hunter and lived to tell about it, but he also knew that that maneuver was a very stupid one. "Garrett you are a genius. And an idiot" he laughed to himself. He got up and continued down the path he had just run into.

He eventually came to a giant door with an inscription on it he couldn't translate. At that time he wished his helmet was working, and looked around for a control panel. He pulled out an ICE-pick and placed it on the panel, then let the slicing softs do their job. He heard some whirring sounds, then heard a ping, and finally heard what sounded like an old modem connection and dial up. He puzzled over it for a second then saw that the door could open, and pressed the green button. The doors slid open halfway effortlessly, and then started making a grinding noise the rest of the way as the doors looked like they would break. He kept his pistol at the ready, making sure nothing inside could jump out.

Inside was an incredible spectacle. It seemed to be a machine shop, or science chamber, at least that was what it looked like to the Lieutenant. The little soldier was an ant compared to the shear size of the room. Robotic arms everywhere, conduits snaking across every wall, experiments placed on thousands of work areas. He eyed a computer terminal, walked up to it, and it suddenly came alive. Multiple holo screens appeared near the original screen, showing different reports and records. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't read any of it. What he wouldn't do for an AI right about now. He noticed a diagram of one object in one of the screens, floating there and turning slowly around. It looked like a humanoid form, but slightly blocky in areas and other places smooth. It seemed to have some sort of wing like appendages on the back, slightly similar in look to the spikes on the back of a hunter, but also wing like. It appeared as if this was some sort of suit, or armor to him. His musing was suddenly cut off by a plasma bolt flying by and striking a work station. He jumped and rolled, diving for cover behind what was now going to be his blast shield for awhile. "I'm impressed human. You continued to follow me even into this area that is unexplored by both our people. How did you ever manage to survive with that horrible excuse for a body?" He heard in slightly garbled English. "How do you know that we haven't explored this place huh bug head!" He said, trying his best to keep the elite occupied long enough to locate where he was. "Oh I do believe your people haven't found this place. Otherwise you would have used what is inside to push us off this pathetic colony." His attempted white lie broke, and he still didn't know where the bastard was. The elite's voice was echoing around the room. He eyed the computer. Surely if the thing could keep a scan of all the work stations it could scan the entire room for life forms? He was willing to chance the risk of getting shot and snuck up to the station. Another bolt flew by followed by three more, but he still inched his way up to the terminal. He pressed some buttons on the ICE-pick, having one more use in it before it fried its internals, and placed it next to the thing. The whirring happened again, and then followed by what sounded like a toaster saying its done toasting. _Who programmed the sounds into this thing? _But stopped that train of the thought when the other half of his brain told him he was going to get shot if he didn't hurry up. His other half of his brain shut up after that. The scanners picked up two life forms, but he still couldn't read what the life forms were, nor could he figure out where they were placed in coordinates to the room. He could be at the front of the room and the elite could be in the southwest corner, but he might have it the other way around. He jumped back to his little defensive wall and saw more bolts fly by. He knew now where he was compared to the elite, as he wasn't keeping track of where the shots where coming from before this, just where they were gonna end up if he didn't move out of the way. He sighted the elite as he fired more plasma his way and took a shot, not aiming for the elite per se, but hitting the rifle and stopping him from firing more death at him. He hit, but it didn't knock the rifle out of his hand, just stunned him for a second before he moved to a new defense location.

Garrett watched the terminal from where he was and followed the moving beacon. This asshole was going to sneak up on him again. He saw the beacon stop and checked the area. The elite had a good place; a wall similar to what he had, high placing on the third level of the establishment, and an escape route in case Garrett tried to move. Worst of all, he seemed pinned from where the elite was, as all the alien needed to do was cover the sides and top of Garrett's wall. There was no more cover, and if he ran for the door he would be cut down before he got half way. _Where's a SPARTAN when you need one_ he mumbled to himself. He then noticed a beam held by small cables just over the elite's cover. _If I shoot the back cable I can crush the bastard_ he thought. The problem was, it was quite far away, and it he peeked up he could get shot very easily. "No other way to do it" he said and grabbed an empty clip he had and threw it one way, having plasma bolts chase the sound, then threw two grenades to cause some shrapnel in front of him and dust. He heard the explosion, peeked up, aimed to where he saw the cable, saw some plasma shots fly toward him and shot. He ducked just as a searing bolt hit right where his head was, and heard the cable break and the beam fall. The elite screamed and then died. Garrett got up then careful there weren't any allies, he decided to explore the place a bit, trying to find a communications station or something to say hello to base camp.

As he looked around, he saw what looked like a hunter size metal crate, with no seams or weld marks on it. It seemed quite solid, maybe material used for the prototype items in the room. He took a look around, and then heard something inside of it. Something sounded like it was starting up or was already on. He backed away but it was too late. He was suddenly scanned by the box, heard "Pilot verified" and was sucked into the box.


	4. Touched By An Angel

-1The Major had finally finished his mission and was for the first time exhausted. Military intelligence didn't give him or Cortana the knowledge of there being an entire covenant army being on the star base, and therefore he wasn't prepared for it. The automated defenses did help, once they were brought online by Isis and when they were given control to the little AI again, and once the cores were brought back to human control allowed a much needed boost in firepower against the covenant forces on board. Overall, the mission went well, and only four marines had bought the farm. He rested his head against his pillow on his bed in his one person quarters, tired beyond belief.

It was funny, he had walked into the combat quarters for lower ranked troops and was gonna sleep there, but he remembered he had his own room now that he was a Major. He was fast asleep for a few hours, only to be woken up by Cortana. He opened one eye staring forward, rolled it upwards to stare at the women standing in front of him and smiling then brought his hand up to his eyes to rub the grit out. "We've analyzed the data we retrieved from the station and our next mission is to head to Valeius and assist the marines there in finding the artifact." John sat up; taking in all the info that he could while waking up. "I thought you said it was a cache Cortana not one item" he grumbled slightly. "Well it seems its just one item in the cache grumplstilsken." His eyes somewhat bugged out as she called him that, and he stared at her with annoyance. He sighed, got up and went to take a shower. "Sorry I called you that" Cortana apologized following in. Without so much as a second thought, the major unclothed himself and got into the small stand up wash stand and turned the water on. "Sorry I grumbled at you, but as you can see, I'm not in a very good mood after not sleeping for 72 hours straight, then having someone wake me up after only a few hours of rest." Cortana leaned against the wall, listening to what he had to say. "Hey, I've tried to ease things for you by getting the information you need so that you could even sleep those few hours and not have to come to the bridge for the data logs." She glanced at him in the shower, and then turned her head away slightly blushing for a second. "Does intelligence have any information as to what the object is? For all we know it could be wreckage after all these years."

Cortana checked any files that might have come through with new knowledge about the colony, but nothing showed up for the artifact mystery. "Nothing, but they think it's somewhere near the capitol. If we can find it before the covenant, it could give humanity a huge advantage." John stopped the water and grabbed for a towel. Cortana reached for the towel that was out of reach, sent electrical pulses through her arm to condense the photons tightly together and solidified her hand for that moment to pick up the towel and hand it to the Spartan. She could only do it for a few seconds, ten at the most, but she liked being able to feel things now. The texture of the towel was interesting, as she had never been able to touch a rough cloth surface before. John grabbed hold of the towel right on top of her hand, his eyes closed with water drizzling down his face, and for the first time they touched. His hand was quite strong to her, but also gentle as he realized her hand was under his. For a split second she felt like he was suppose to hold her hand in his, that they were suppose to be near each other, but she didn't know if this was a close friendship she wanted or if she was in love.

A second later the electrical field failed to condense the photons and her hand slipped away from the hold, the major drying himself off. She stared at her hand a moment before moving out of the bathroom and letting the major get dressed. He finally finished putting his armor on and placed the AI chip into his neck. She was in his mind once again. "The pelicans are prepped right now and filled with equipment. We'll be briefed in docking bay four." The Major acknowledged and walked on to the bay, passing many of the marines that were with him in the last mission. They had earned their R&R and weren't going to be on this one, having taken most of the hunters down by themselves while the Spartan took the Brutes. As he walked into the bay, the briefing started and he stood at attention in a row of officers. This was going to be a busy week, and not much sleep was going to be in it either…

(John is sleep deprived! I wonder if he'll snap at Cortana again? Or maybe he might snap at the other marines? I doubt it, but he could go on a killing spree against the covenant? This is a fairly short chapter as I'm quite busy at this time. Hopefully I can make up for it by making the next chapter longer.)


	5. The Battle Frame

-1Garrett woke up to darkness, and oddly enough he couldn't move. He tried to turn his head but couldn't, and his arms seemed pinned. He tried to scream, heard himself scream, and noticed that he was screaming into an enclosed area around his head. At that moment he heard the same male voice "Pilot engaged. Blowing containment locks. Unlocking main systems and altering NNet controls. Verifying… pilot is 40 incapable of control."

Garrett became puzzled at what was happening. _You'd be 40 incapable of moving too if you fell fifty feet and tangled with a hunter plus got into a gun fight with an elite._ "Pilot will be modified to counteract the problem." "Wait a minute. Modified? What the hell…" but before he could finish that sentence he felt extreme pain in his body. His bones felt like they were on fire, and his muscles turned and twisted. He screamed again, in pure agony and bit his tongue. He could taste blood in his mouth now, and felt nauseous. Suddenly, the pain was gone, and he felt absolute relief. He panted, and was rewarded with "Pilot requires more oxygen?" His eyes bulged at that thought. The air conditioners in wherever he was turned on full blast, cooling him to the core, like someone had thrown him outside without clothes.

"STOP!" He yelled and the AC stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Where am I?" he mostly said to himself, but didn't mind being helped. At that moment, a holo image blazed across his eyes, allowing him to see outside. He was still inside the complex, but he seemed to be seeing at a higher vantage point. Other objects were in his sight, and from the looks of it, the objects were along the lines of radar, body statistics of what he was inside, and other things like weapons, power control, temperature, and special systems, just to name a few. He looked down and could actually move his head now. What he saw were two legs that weren't his, or so he thought. He moved his left leg and the one he was looking at moved in turn. His leg felt like it was slightly encased in something, but barely noticeable if he hadn't brought his attention fully to it. The body statistic diagram looked oddly like the diagram on the terminal.

"Where am I?" He asked again. "You have asked that question before. All sensor systems have been engaged. You are currently in Azraha complex 12, sub complex 4C, branch 19, sub branch 2, experimental production stations 12 through…" He cut the voice off "Okay okay, I get the hint. Who are you?" "I am the A.D.N. Auron at your service." Garrett really had some questions now. "Ok, what is an A.D.N.?" Garrett asked quizzically. "Automated Defense Node. I am a Special Operations Battle A.I." THAT Garrett knew. "Who made you? And why am I in here? How do I get out of this chicken shitted outfit?" He struggled and the armored body moved. "No information is available of creators. Data main frame missing multiple directories. All directories attach to production and creature identification. You are here as pilot. You have been scanned as control of this battle frame. Your DNA has been registered. To exit, request disengagement and armor will condense to arm unit. However, disengagement is unavailable at this time. You are in a battle zone."

Garrett perked up at the battle word used. "What do you mean! Where!" He demanded. "Target area is 480 meters above you. Sensors register two sides engaging in combat. One side numbers 60 targets similar in body to your own, and other side registers as multiple species. Both are ill equipped with class 2 weaponry." Garrett looked up and the armored head looked up. Wherever he moved, this mech like armor was moving. "You mean I can't leave? Damn. Fine. Are there any other objects of use in this room?" He might be able to use something in here to take the armor off forcibly. "All prototype objects in station area have been destroyed either by poor maintenance or damage from ruptured ceiling panels. No known technology is useful here at this time. A request for maintenance crew has been sent, however, the communications stations in the complex are not functioning. Perhaps you should seek out the crew and request maintenance be done to area…" But the AI was cut off.

Garrett looked to the control terminal he was at just a few minutes ago, and saw that one of the bolts that nearly hit him last time had fried it. He cursed under his breath. "So no known technology or electronics is useable in this complex?" He asked, hoping his answer would be what he wanted to hear. "Affirmative. All known usage of complex is unusable except for self destruct sequence. The complex is a shell. No known life forms inside. Request for self destruct sequence activation is suggested." Self Destruct! Was this thing insane? Garrett thought for a moment. The place was large, quite large, and he knew there was nothing left here to do. The covenant wouldn't be able to get anything from here though, so that was some small comfort. Maybe he had gotten what they were searching for already. "So I'm the pilot of this… battle frame you called it?" Auron acknowledged the question. "You are the registered pilot of battle frame 0001. Prototype mechanized armor. Your DNA is verified and you are the only one who is allowed to pilot the frame. Any other beings will be dealt with by defense systems."

He sighed inwardly and started to walk to the door. He was much larger now, looking out as with eyes from the mech. He could see as though he the actual armor. At least it won't play with his self awareness as to where his body was in proportion to the outside world. The problem was getting to the outside world. His chest was at the top of the door frame, so he had to kneel to get through. "May I make a suggestion?" Auron piped up. "What now?" Garrett grumbled to the AI as he attempted to waddle like a constipated toddler. "The main bay doors were made to allow you to gain entrance and exit to the complex. The tunnels nearby were made for smaller beings." Garrett stopped, thought for a moment, and backed up. He banged his head against the top of the entrance arch and barely noticed it aside from a loud CLANG sound. "Okay, so where is the door and how do I open it?" And with that thought, a giant wall disengaged its locks and lifted. Snow cascaded off and fell to the floor. "Your thoughts will activate items as you would your own body. If you ask questions, verbally or thought controlled, help will be given." Well at least he wouldn't be flying by the seat of his pants.

He ran out of the room to find that he could move much faster than normal. There was a speed indicator telling him he was moving at a brisk pace of 90 kph. He slowed down, as he had overshot where the sensors were telling the battle was. Apparently, the marines were winning, as the icons that registered humanoids were pushing the other icons back. He turned, saw a very steep slope, and asked if he could get up there to Auron. "Boosters can be engaged. Think of them and they will activate." Well that was a laugh. He at first thought he didn't know how to control the armor, but somehow information was placed in his mind telling him how. The back jets burned to life and he lifted off the ground as fast as ever, the problem was aiming correctly. He shot towards the side of the cliff and slammed hard against it. "OUCH! Whoa, I thought you said I know how to work this thing?" Garrett yelled out. "You are still adapting to the armor. You will soon learn to control all forms of movement; however, I would ask permission to assist you in gaining the altitude needed to enter the combat zone." Auron helped Garrett get to the top of the cliff carefully and landed fairly well on top. His "eyes" zoomed in on the battle zone no more than fifty meters away and ten meters lower than where he was standing. "You have exited the complex. Self Destruct engaged." Garrett heard the voice, tried to stop Auron, but he was too quick. The explosion blew through the ground and shook everything. The ground slightly caved in near the marines and covenant, like an earthquake had passed through. The ground didn't lower, but most of the area had very uneven terrain now.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!" He yelled. "I have engaged the self destruct systems in the complex. It is unable to be used anymore. The humanoid life forms are your allies correct?" Auron asked. He cursed at the machine before acknowledging it. "I suggest you assist them. The enemies you call covenant have regrouped and have brought air support. Six class 3 fighters have engaged the battle zone. Shall we attack?"

Garrett glanced at the weapons in a list. There were so many to name, and one looked interesting. "What is the P.R.S.?" He asked. "The P.R.S. stands for Portable Replication system, but it only works on the frame, as too much energy is used to have multiple items created and kept. Usage is limited to military supplies; however, maximum size allowed is relative to an Oharil class carrier, or in your human terms, a mobile moon fortress. Use it wisely. The frame must recharge heavily for multiple weeks if it replicates the largest size. The item will deteriorate quite rapidly after a few days if not used on the frame, therefore…" He was cut off again. "I get the idea. Don't use for anyone else. Damn. I wish I could. Having a few Heavy Cruisers up there and having them manned could really help."

He looked over the rest of the list. The list was substantial, having everything from projectile weapons to gravity cannon. As he didn't want to cause even more problems to the terrain, he ignored the gravity weapon and went for some good old fashion projectiles. What looked to be a machine gun he engaged, and boosted down the platform he was on. He realized he could skate along the ground, and used that ability to great effect, hosing the area with firepower and tearing most of the covenant, including the hunters, into fleshy chunks.

"How did you know that they were called covenant anyway?" He asked while fighting. "I have been listening to communication channels that you humans are using and they have called the enemy covenant." He sighed and continued to fire on the enemy.

They were retreating now, and the fighters were mostly destroyed, save two that ran and one of them trailing smoke. He stopped his onslaught then turned around to head towards the marines only to find a group of them aiming their weapons at him. "Whoa, hang on guys, it's me. Lieutenant Garrett. Last time I checked I was on your side." The marines looked at each other, then him again. "Lieutenant? That really you?" One of them asked. He confirmed it. "What happened to you?" He looked at himself, and then realized he could turn the armor off now. "Auron, disengage the armor." Auron complied and the armor seemed to melt into a sort of cybernetic attachment embedded in his left forearm. It seemed to slightly resemble a bracer. The marines lowered their weapons. "Command is gonna wanna report about this."

Command interrogated him for hours on end. They gained about as much information as he knew about what happened, which wasn't very much. "So you're saying you can make a ship in space and drive the surrounding covenant forces away?" Captain Arasin asked. "Uh, yes sir that was what I was told by Auron." The captain looked to his left and was met by the eyes of a very geeky looking AI scientist, Dr. Michael Darinel. "Unfortunately, all the AIs I've used to hack into this Auron's code have either been pushed back effortlessly or damaged heavily. It seems this AI is beyond anything we have." "In any case, you may have some hidden problems that we are unaware of son. If what you say is true, your body could have some problems internally, and we still don't know if you might be infected with anything out there. I want you to report to the infirmary to get checked out, and if your alright then we can discuss this later when you have had some time to rest. You're dismissed." Garrett saluted and turned to leave, then walked to the door. He continued down the hall and to the infirmary. When his check up was finally complete, he was allowed to go to his bunk. "Your body seems to be similar to that of the records of a SPARTAN, but different in certain areas. You haven't grown in height, your muscles have stayed the same size but have increased in strength in ways I can't figure out, and your eye sight and brainwaves are off the chart" the doctor had told him. Similar, but different in many ways. The only cybernetics or foreign items in his body compared to a SPARTAN was the implant in his arm, and other then that he felt normal. He could see things move quite slowly when he wanted to, but it seemed he could control it. He was a normal human in some ways and at par with a SPARTAN in others. He didn't care at the moment; he just wanted to get some sleep. The other marines were staying somewhat clear of him at the time, and he didn't really care. He was normally somewhat social with the others, playing poker sometimes and telling jokes, but now he just wanted to catch some Zs. His eyes were locked shut before he had even hit the bed and he was out like a light. No one would nor dare wake him up for at least eight hours that he had definitely earned.

(So Garrett has a mysterious armor called a battle frame now. He's not a normal marine anymore. I wonder what the brass will have to say about that. Oh, sorry about the last chapter. And ICE-pick is a small computer used solely for hacking and cracking codes on access terminals and keypads to access locked down areas. Its only purpose is to break access codes and open inaccessible areas. It has normally one use, though some have been MILSPECed to allow two times.)


	6. Sleep Walking

-1Garrett woke up to a rumble and then explosions in the background. He jumped to his feet, shot for the armory, and heard gunfire along the way. Plasma bolts whipped along the side of the building he was in, showing easily through the plexi-glass windows used. Apparently, there were pelicans landing with what looked like… a SPARTAN! He only caught a glimpse of him before he entered the armory, grabbed an MA6B and a few extra clips plus a bandolier of grenades, then hauled out like his ass was on fire. He heard a rail cannon open up from a modified warthog as it tried desperately to take care of a few seraphs and a couple of phantoms. It looked like the covenant was tangling with reinforcements. "Shots fired. Drop the weapons and the armor will engage" Auron's voice popped up from his arm unit. "And why would I do that?" Garrett said as he saw a charged plasma bolt from a jackal, rolled, and opened fire on him, the bullets pinging off the shield. "Your weapons are ineffective against these enemies. Engage the armor." Garrett had already emptied most of the first clip before sighing and dropping the weapon and bandolier.

The armor encompassed him from his arm. He couldn't figure out how such a powerful and BIG armor could fit inside the arm unit. Probably had something to do with spatial compression or some such. He didn't want to think about it right at the moment as he had a working wraith sitting in the back, hailing plasma mortars all over.

He targeted the tank long range, a sniper cannon instinctually came into his hand, and he fired, a greenish plasma shot emitting from the barrel and burned a clear path straight toward the bastard. A few elites got in the way, but not for long as the superheated energy ball melted through them. He then swapped the rifle for another, this time aiming for drop ships trying to leave some live cargo. "Heads up, we have inbound trying to drop reinforcements! Bad day! This is a Bad day!" a marine yelled out and opened up on anything in front of him. At that moment, Garrett fired, the shot connecting with the hull of one of the ships, and then doing something not exactly needed.

The explosion in the side caused a fusion reaction, and a supernova like effect rippled out from it, destroying multiple other ships and anything nearby in a 500 meter radius. "Are you insane!" One marine yelled as he watched in shock, while another yelled "You're scarier than the covenant! Whoa, I'm glad I'm on your side! Just point that thing somewhere else kay?"

Suddenly com chatter hit, and he gained the knowledge that a strike force was heading over the mountain horizon from the south. Both he and the Spartan raced to the back, he getting there first and assisting a scorpion tank. The awakened behemoth fired a round into a seraph, punching through one side and shooting out the other, allowing sparks and smoke to trail from it for a few seconds before the fuel tanks caught. The resulting damage caused the flyer to crash into another and both fell from the sky. Phantoms were attempting to land, and Garrett pulled a rapid fire laser chain gun and started unloading into the sky. He was hitting a good deal of them, but was sadly doing not as much damage as he had hoped and a few of them were still dropping off troops. The Spartan reached the area in time and ran towards one of the ships. _Was he insane? _Garrett thought, and changed his mind when the green warrior threw a plasma grenade into an opening door, and then threw a frag under the opening hatch, blasting it upward and closing the helpless hostiles inside with the blue fireball. Garrett turned to his left to find a charging hunter coming right for him and he braced his arms up to defend.

The shield came down and… he stopped it mid air. The hunter looked surprised, Garrett became shocked at what he could do, and the Spartan nearby brought his sniper rifle to bear on the orange stomach in front. He fired one round, and the armored juggernaut crumbled. The remaining forces retreated, and the battle was over. The Spartan walked up to the armored trooper. "Who are you, or… WHAT are you?" He asked. "Lieutenant Garrett Gryphen, 126th heavy support battalion, sir!" He crispy saluted, hearing the clang as his armored hand shot to his head. "I thought the 126th were infantry support for armored columns. You seem more as if you'd fit in the armored column more than supporting one." Garrett chuckled to that. He was probably right. "Sir, you can probably get more of the story from the Captain as I have to check on my squad mates." Garrett heard before he left a female voice emit from the helmet. "Major, we should assist in taking care of the wounded, then gain what info we can."

After being debriefed, The Major followed the Battle Frame along the back of the base to a waypoint, and then towards a guard post. The frame was huge, about 15 feet tall, and the black armor drunk in light, making it look evilish or menacing. The look of it was interesting: The entire body was black armored with silver armor under. The head had a visor similar in look to the visors on the helmets for marines, but more angular and more extended and sloped toward the eyes, giving a mysterious casting of shadow over the face. Two sensor horns protruded from the side and pointed diagonally backwards and up, having multiple antennas extending and contracting as if they were used like ears. The face had two green ocular cameras that just looked like deformed upside down squat pentagons close to the visor, and the face plate over where a nose and mouth would be was angled forward, two parts pushing outward from the middle. Slits in the sides seemed to be a form of ventilation. Twin black angular pauldrons jutted out from the collar, and armor plates jutted out from those downwards, close to the upper arms. The chest area was large and angled as well, probably housing electronics and power supplies, as well as increased armor layering to protect vital organs. The legs were fairly curved with seams of armor paneling warping in certain areas and booster openings in several areas for jump jets. An armored skirt extended from around the waist, and two pieces extended down toward the ankles in front of the legs, giving the thing a slightly smaller or squat look to it. These he found out could extend or detract as needed for more protection of the legs. There were two wing like appendages on the back as well, looking like the head of an arrow when the two parts of one wing moved in opposite directions towards the body, allowing Verne's to be used in between for thrust. Overall, the machine was quite impressive. It even had an AI built in, which Cortana tried to talk to and gain some more info, but was denied politely. When Cortana tried to break in, the AI, Auron, threw her back effortlessly.

They reached the guard post, and the marine waiting for them looked straight up at both of them warily, less so at the frame as it was his direct superior and a squad mate. "Nothing to report sir, as if we'd have anything to report about after you knocked those bastards flat on their asses." Another marine turned his head from a prone position looking over a valley. "You kicked some serious ass out there sir!" whooping and cheering. "I, uh, did what anybody else would do. I just wish I knew more about this thing; otherwise I would have called my shots more wisely. You saw how much damage I did to the countryside compared to the enemy." The marine was about to comment in an encouraging manor, but stopped when Auron piped up "Your accuracy was 60. You require more practice with this frame. I suggest…" but was cut off by a loud shut up yelled by Garrett. The decryption systems in the frame allowed Garrett to hear Cortana chuckle, and the marines cracked up as well. Apparently, everyone had heard the choice words he had used with Auron. He sighed and turned around telling the marines to let him know if they see anything.

He walked on, the Spartan following behind. He watched the armored trooper walk ahead of him, trying to sense anything from the 15 foot tank. The face didn't show anything obviously, but he could see the armor slump forward and the head hang somewhat low, as if the lieutenant was… depressed? Exhausted maybe as he was perhaps? The marines at this colony had been fighting for quite sometime, with no relief for quite a while. He too had only gotten a few hours of sleep lately, and if he didn't get to rest soon he was going to snap and request relief duty on some back water station. Cortana had mentioned that before, and he ignored it, but now that he thought about it she might have been trying to get him to be stationed at one back water place because she was trying to take care of him, or maybe make sure he didn't burn out.

His thoughts snapped back to a loud yelling from the lieutenant. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE LANDSCAPE IS STRUCTURALLY UNSOUND! YOU DETONATED THE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE IN THE COMPLEX, SO YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE OUR BASE! I THOUGHT IT WAS A STUPID IDEA IN THE FIRST PLACE!" He screamed, gesticulating wildly with his arms. The Mjolnir clad soldier jumped back a meter, keeping out of distance from the arms.

Garrett and many of the other troops were finally going to get a chance to get off this rock and get home. Quite a few of them had homes on Earth, but were stationed here for about a year, including him. He could at least get a little bit of R&R after he got on the pelicans. He was finally going to be able to leave, once the packing was complete and tomorrow happened to come around. He was to report for a debriefing in front of a council, and which one of the people is none other than the woman that invented Project Mjolnir, the armor that the Spartans wore. He didn't want to come off as an idiot in front of so many people, who were proving his worth and a soldier. He had seen some of his friends enter for a meeting, and they came out depressed or worn out. The council hit hard, taking every ounce of information you had and gobbling it up, then kicking you out. The Major he was with, SPARTAN 117, had been through a few, and even he sighed after one of the meetings. He was all set, and he had to get some sleep. He was given some time off, and he took it gratefully. The Spartan was also sleeping near him, completely asleep when his head hit the pillow. The AI matrix was placed in a terminal nearby, and Cortana turned after watching 117 sleeping soundly to see the half dazed marine walk in, kick his boots off, drop his armor and gear on the ground, and walk towards his bunk. Cortana said a hello, and he stopped slightly, looked at her with a goofy sleepy look, waved bye bye, then hit the bunk and was asleep instantly. The heaters inside the bunker allowed the soldiers to luxuriate in the warmth, falling into a sleep a mortar round wouldn't wake them up from. Dreamland at last, after so much happening.


	7. Background Check

-1After a good night's sleep and nothing hampering it like covenant, the Spartan and marine awoke, got ready for the day, and got loaded up on the pelican. They headed for the _Resilience_, one of the first heavy cruisers off the line with ablative heat resistant armor. The shielding systems used by the covenant require enormous amounts of power to keep functional, something the human ships as have yet to produce, so new types of armor were used in exchange. The shields could recharge, but the armor was quite a bit tougher than the shields could ever be, allowing a plasma torpedo barrage on the flanks and only leaving scorch marks. More than one barrage and things would probably start to break apart. It allowed the ship to at least stand toe to toe with one of the larger covenant ships and have a chance at winning.

However, this mission happened to be its maiden voyage. The ship was huge, although most of the space on the outer parts was used for the honey comb structuring and coolant systems for the armor, similar to the halcyon cruisers like the late _Pillar of Autumn_. Four Heavy MAC guns were mounted on the head of the monster, with a new weapon system running down the spine of the ship, an ion cannon. The ion cannon allowed the ship to drain the energy of the enemy's shields, allowing more conventional weapons to finish them off. However, this weapon required the ship to move at half speed, using three of the six engine cores to power the condensers of the weapon's compression system. The ship was also one of the first to be equipped with internal defense weapon systems. If a covenant boarding party wanted to say hello, all they have to do is waltz in and the AI controlled defense turrets and security droids would take care of it, although they still required assistance from live troops. The pelican dropped under the belly of the beast, easily passing by 50 laser and auto cannon turrets along the way. Garrett whistled. _Whoever built this thing didn't want their baby to go down without a few covenant bastards going with her_.

The pelican rose up as the pilot maneuvered the small craft into a docking bay. Clamps grappled onto the little ship as it moved along the corridor, allowing the pilot to stop doing his job and sit back. The clamps moved along rails toward a parking area, the rear doors closing and locking down. The pelican was landed safely on the ground; although it was more along the lines of the clamps disconnecting as the craft was two feet still off the ground and falling. The clang of the pelican landing and the jostling of the passengers told them they were aboard. The Spartan picked up his gear and walked off, Garrett following after. Marines were parking warthogs and ATVs all over the place as tanks rumbled by and put in cargo locks to keep them in place. "Welcome aboard sirs. I'm Sergeant Griswold, and I'm to escort you two to the bridge. If you'll walk this way…" a marine said as they walked toward the ramps.

They followed him up to an elevator shaft, got on board once a platform was there, and raised about six floors before getting off and moving toward a large door. The marine accessed security control through a terminal nearby and the door opened to reveal the bridge on the other side. They walked in, and Garrett looking around at everything. The bridge wasn't at all large, though it did have quite a lot more control stations and system activation pods in the walls than he was used to seeing. _Probably for all the extra weaponry_ he thought. The most interesting thing he noticed was the bridge was inside the ship, similar to the covenant ships. _It looks like we've learned _He thought.

They walked towards the front and stood for a moment as the marine saluted to the two women standing there. "Ma'am, Ma'am, I've brought the two soldiers here as ordered." The Captain turned around as well as the other woman, and Garrett and the Major saluted. "At ease men. My name is Captain Wallis, and I believe one of you already know Dr. Halsey." Garrett barely broke into shock. _This was Dr. Halsey? _Garrett felt uneasy. He didn't expect one of the council members being here. She greeted the Spartan like an old friend, asking how he was and how things went down on the planet. He answered with a few short sentences, and then stood back.

She then walked up to Garrett and greeted him. He saluted her. "You don't have to do that for me Lieutenant, I'm a civilian. I don't have a rank." She smiled and put her hand out for him to shake. He lowered his hand from his head and looked uneasy. He didn't know what to do. He put his hand out and shook hers. She then lowered her hand and looked back at the Spartan. "The Major tells me you've been stationed at that base for about a year you say? And now you have this powered armor artifact found from a forerunner complex? I'd like to study it tomorrow." Garrett started to get slightly confused. "The complex or the armor ma'am?" he asked. "The complex, if possible. I know we are supposed to head to Earth, but that isn't for three days."

He sighed, and then told her about Auron engaging the big bang inside the base. She stood there, blinking at him. He thought she was annoyed at him. His back became even straighter, standing at attention even more. "We should talk about this in private." She motioned for both the Major and himself to go into a conference room with her to talk. He walked in, scared that he had said something wrong. _It's the truth that the place was destroyed_ He thought.

"You said the complex was destroyed yes?" She asked. "Yes ma'am." "Then all of the other equipment was destroyed inside." Auron decided to talk at that moment. "Negative. There was no other functional equipment due to length of time without maintenance. All technology inside was either taken with occupants away or destroyed by time." Dr. Halsey became surprised. "Who was that?" She asked him. "I am A.D.N. Auron, the Special Operations Battle AI aboard the Battle Frame." She looked straight into Garrett's eyes. "You never said anything about having an AI with you." _I didn't have a chance to tell you_ he thought. "ma'am, I have not had a chance to fill out a full report, as normally required. I apologize. I will do so…" but was cut off by her. "You will do no such thing. As of this moment, all information about you is considered classified. You are not to respond to anyone about what has happened to you except for me and the Major here. I'll have the captain relinquish you from marine duties. Consider yourself on something along the lines of shore leave until we get to Earth. Cortana will keep anyone from accessing any data on you." Cortana acknowledged, and Garrett nodded. "Now, I would like to know the story. How is it that you have this?" She asked. They all sat down, Dr. Halsey first getting three cups of coffee from a counter nearby and setting them on the table. "Well…"

5 HOURS LATER 

Finally, Garrett finished. "So all you did was be nearby the container?" She asked. "Yes ma'am." She thought for a moment. "Major, have you encountered anything similar in the past?" The Major shook his head. "Well then, it seems the forerunners are capable of producing remarkable containment objects for these devices." Garrett piped up. "Actually ma'am, from what Auron told me, it was a prototype. I think that was the only one made." Auron acknowledged that.

"Battle Frame 0001, prototype powered armor used for heavy fire support and anti-ship support, armored support and complex defense, and…" Garrett cut him off as Dr. Halsey tried to stop him from talking. "You mean to tell me I'm capable of Anti-ship firepower?" Auron confirmed. "You said it yourself Lieutenant, that you fired a rifle capable of a small supernova. It probably was made for damaging or destroying ships." Garrett sighed. "I don't want this. Is it possible to remove it?" He asked, hopeful that someone would say yes. "I don't know enough about the internals to know where to begin, let alone take it off without removing your arm" Dr. Halsey said. "You are incapable of removing the armor unit. Your DNA has been programmed into the pilot control systems" Auron said. "Can't you get another pilot! And why was I programmed in! I was only nearby! And another thing: If I couldn't read the terminal nearby, then how is it that you speak our language?" Garrett yelled. Dr. Halsey told him to quiet down. "The frame was in start up phase two when you were nearby, and at that time a pilot is to be scanned in and verified. You were standing in the scanner area, therefore you were the pilot. That was chosen as the procedure by the creation team. As for language, you have a neural interface correct? I was capable of translating language control into what you humans call English."

Garrett tried to abject, but Dr Halsey cut in. "Who is the creation team? The forerunners? The people who made the Halos?" Auron was silent for a second, and then reported his information. "Unable to discern creators. Information matrices used for bioorganic verification has been erased, as well as matrices for production of armor. All other matrices seem to be functioning normally. Is there any other information you require?" Dr. Halsey sighed, bowed her head, and thought for a moment.

"Cortana, can you…" and Cortana shook her head. "Tried once and he blew me away. His security nodes and protection codes are incredible. I've never been stopped before, but there's a first time for everything" She said, folding her arms over her chest. Dr. Halsey's head was still bowed, and she breathed deep. "Alright… as of this moment, you are part of the SPARTAN II program and MJOLNIR project. What I said before about you being on temporary shore leave is still in effect. However, I need to study you more for any problems, anything that you haven't told me or don't know yourself. Tomorrow at 0900, meet me at practice room 2, both of you. I'd like to see a few things. I will see you then." Garrett stood up, saluted, remembered what she said, and nodded, then walked out the door. "Ma'am, permission to speak freely?" John asked. She let him. "Was it right to make him part of the SPARTAN program and MJOLNIR project?" She watched the door for a second before turning toward the green armored man. "John, I don't know what is right for that man. All I know is that if we don't do something, quite a few factions are going to be very interested in using him for their own gains. He'll be under your command after we get to Earth."

He acknowledged, and then saluted. "As I told him and you both, stop doing that. I'm just an old civilian." Old was not quite what she was. Captured covenant technology allowed her to revert some of the years on her, allowing her to be the age of 45 in terms of look and body. She still had a few gray hairs, but other than that she looked fairly striking. If continued, the treatments from the technology might push her down to 30 or maybe always 21. Immortality. This treatment was used on prophets, allowing them to live far longer than any other species in the covenant, giving them the impression that they had ascended, and therefore were higher than the rest. The one side effect is the UNKNOWN side effects the technology might have on Dr. Halsey. She had a check up every week for anything odd.

She pushed up her glasses as he left with Cortana's chip in his helmet, then pulled up some files on a computer and began working on them, mainly data on Lieutenant Garrett Gryphen and moving info around or deleting it.


	8. Training Day

-1Garrett got to the practice room early, two hours early to be exact. He still didn't know what to do in front of the Doctor as he didn't exactly know what he was capable of. He engaged the armor and asked Auron to train him. "Step 1: take a run around the designated area." Garrett ran around the room, which was the size of a football field. He noticed he was doing what he did last time, and that was move at over 90kph. He stopped, and didn't even break a sweat.

"What next?" he asked. "Step 2: booster control. Activate thrust systems and hover or fly to the other side of the room." He thought for a moment, got the boosters to work on the legs, jumped and flew straight at the ceiling. He tried to stop, but he cut the thrusters out, and sailed through the air, only to have to land 200 feet in the air. "CRAP!" He yelled as he fell from the "Sky" like a black armored brick. As he hit the ground, the legs recoiled and the hydraulic systems inside compensated. Actuators in joint areas reverted the body to a standing stance again.

"I… I didn't get hurt! My legs aren't broken!" He laughed. "Correct. Why would you think this? The armor is capable of landing from an orbital drop, without thrust systems or parachute systems active." He thought for a moment. "How fast would it fall?" Auron calculated the number. "You would be moving at a speed of Mach 25 once gravity was in full effect." Garrett thought for a moment. "You've been reading the data logs on board haven't you?" Auron acknowledged. "Your history as well as how your people define physics and other aspects of the universe is fascinating. Shall we continue with the training?"

Garrett said yes, tried the jump one more time, and made it, carefully.

"Step 3: ranged combat. Pull a standard rifle." Garrett engaged what he thought was a standard rifle and checked to make sure it was what he thought it was. He aimed at a target dummy and fired. "Accuracy 86. Please try again." Garrett fired again, this time a string of bullets. "Accuracy has increased 6. Acceptable." _My accuracy was 92. That's fucking great! Not acceptable pfft… _he thought.

"Step 4: Close combat. Put away the rifle and activate the energy saber and shield." He looked through a list of close combat weapons, found the saber, and pulled it out. It hummed to life and ignited into a bluish blaze, jumping to about three fourths the size of him. The shield engaged as well, pushing into position on his left arm, a large black tower shield. An energy field pulsed on the outside of it, probably enhancing its defensive capabilities. "Now, attack dummy target two." He did as he was told, and cleaved the target in two, catching the cloth dummy on fire as the heat from the saber passed over it. "Impressive." Garrett continued through the training with ease. "Basic training is complete. Would you like to start advanced training?" Garrett grinned.

Dr. Halsey had just finished her breakfast and had met the major outside the mess hall. She moved along the hallway, a few crew members saying hello and good morning, but other than that the trip was uneventful. John stood behind and to the right of her in the lift as they headed toward the practice room. As they neared the doors, they heard combat inside. They rushed inside, the Spartan grabbing a rifle and locking a clip into it, then scanning the area. What he and Dr. Halsey saw was a giant mech fighting against dummy targets, as well as dodging incoming fire from automated turrets. He noticed the two people standing at the door, stopped the training and had Auron turn off the turrets. He walked over to them, and could easily tell that Dr. Halsey was surprised. Every step he took was a sort of clank of armor and leg pressing against the ground, and he stood right in front of them. "You're early" she said. "I had to figure out what to do in this thing and not make a fool of myself ma'am." She chuckled and pulled a clipboard out from under her arm, and then pulled a pen from the back of her ear.

She brushed some hair slightly dangling from her face and pushed the button on the pen. "Alright. Let me see what you can do. I'd like you to do some basic things. Lifting boxes, firing at targets, communications, mobility, etc." Garrett gave the thumbs up and moved to the starting location she wanted him at. "Now, I want you to lift this crate." He moved toward the crate, grabbed both sides, and lifted with no effort. He then balanced the weight on one hand. "No problems here. How much is in this box ma'am?" He asked. "20 tons" she replied, writing things down. He put the box down and continued with the list she gave him. He jumped over hurtles and crawled through a fake ditch, as it was on a ship, and then communicated with her via LADAR communication. She furiously scribbled things down, and when he finished the last thing on the list, she walked up to him and asked "how would you like to play a game of dodge ball?" Garrett told her that he was doing that with the turrets before she came in. "I'm talking about the Major against you with paintball rounds." _This was going to be interesting _he thought. He grinned under the armor and replied "Yes ma'am!"

After twenty minutes of paint combat, two multi colored beings walking over to the doctor, she not being able to control her laughing. "I got you first, so I think I won" Garrett chuckled. "Your shot hit me in the foot; therefore it would have only incapacitated my leg. I hit you in the right arm the first time." Garrett turned. "You hit the pauldron, not my arm! That was armor! Not body!" The major motioned to the orange coloring down on his foot. "And your shot hit my ankle armor. What's your point?" the Spartan noted. Garrett grumbled, and Dr. Halsey started talking. "From what I've observed, the armor is quite impressive to say the least, but the targeting systems seem to be a bit slow when it comes to small fast moving targets." Garrett noted the info, asked Auron about it, and gained an annoying answer. "The reason for slow fire control is the secondary NNet is trying to determine how the pilot acts, and will adapt to the personality of movements the pilot uses as well as reflexes. You have been modified, but you are not used to the improvements yet. It will take more training or combat to fix this." Halsey wrote this down, making sure she had as much as possible about the armor. "So this thing has two AIs?" Garrett asked. "Negative. I am the Battle AI. The NNet is a semi learning battle computer that is not as able as a full AI, although they are quite similar. There are restrictions placed on them to make sure that they do not override the main system, which is me." Garrett thumbed his nose, trying to scratch at an itch under the armor. "Can I turn this armor off ma'am?" She told him yes, still smiling at the huge amounts of color all over his body. He turned the armor off, and the sticky paint sloughed right off, falling in a circle around him. The major stared at him, looked down at himself, and noticed a huge difference now.

"Major, go get cleaned up and meet me and the Lieutenant at my quarters." The major acknowledged, and walked off toward a cleaning shower. Garrett walked with Dr. Halsey to her quarters. "So how do you feel in that armor? Powerful? Slow? Clumsy?" She asked. "The first and the last, but the last starting to go away. It's difficult to walk around as a human and then change to a fifteen foot tall walking tank. Your center of gravity changes and it's gonna take a bit of practice to get used to that. Another odd thing is having an AI constantly at my ear. I've seen the Major with Cortana in his helmet, and I don't know how he can be so used to it. Having a woman's voice compared to a male's voice is probably the difference." Auron piped up. "This is the self determined guise that I chose, and you will have to get used to it." Garrett got annoyed. "Not unless another AI is given, in which case I don't have to get used to it." Auron was silent for a moment. Garrett felt a pang of guilt for what he just said. "AIs are thinking too you know. In some ways they are beings in their own right. I believe you should apologize to him Lieutenant" Halsey told him. "Auron… sorry." Auron was still silent for a few seconds, and then responded. "Apology accepted, though at this early stage of piloting, I assumed you would be displeased or annoyed with me. The way your personality is, you would accept me as a colleague in perhaps a few days or weeks, though this is an estimate, not an exact answer." Garrett put his right hand to his forehead and shook his head, slightly smiling. "Ugh. Let's just see how everything goes alright?" Auron acknowledged him.

They reached Dr. Halsey's quarters. "You know, Cortana and the Major were similar at the beginning. They didn't exactly like each other, but after seeing each other's strengths, they worked out the kinks." Garrett stood as she sat down in a chair, crossing her legs, and put the clipboard down. "Have a seat lieutenant." He sat down, wondering what she was going to say. "From the looks of it, I can't make heads or eagles of what the armor is made of, nor can I discern what is equipped inside the armor. It seems very capable of being underestimated when things start to happen, as although you were a large target, you were able to move surprisingly fast." She pointed to the data she had gained on the clipboard, and then pushed a button on a controller. A video screen came to life, showing the entire paintball game. "As you can see, when you fired your weapon at the major, he was able to move quickly enough so that the gun was actually trailing behind by about a couple of centimeters. At the range you were playing at, you wouldn't have been able to hit him very well. I suggest you do what Auron asks for in any training time you can get."

Garrett and Dr. Halsey watched the video carefully, her pointing out things here and there, and soon the Major accessed the door. "Enter" she told. The door slid open, and the seven foot tall man walked in. She reviewed what she had told Garrett with John before moving on. "You are now under the Major's command when we get to Earth. Once the council meeting is over, I think you can rest assured that nothing overly interesting is going to be happening to you, and by that I mean in a bad way." Garrett sighed a relief. "Thank you ma'am." She checked her watch, then added "Sorry to run out, but I have an appointment to keep. If you'll excuse me."

All three walked out of the room and she continued down the hall to a lift, Garrett heading toward a recreation area, and John 117 heading to the Spartan bunk areas. There were three new SPARTAN IIs inside, part of the new batch from Chief Mendoza. Jax, a Demolitions expert, sat on his bed playing videogames, and Marie, a sniper, laid back and watched a movie on a small couch. Trent, a stealth fighter, was curled up with a book on his bunk. They shot to attention when he walked in. "Officer on deck." He motioned at ease, and they moved back into the lazy positions they were in before. "Sir, how was the fight on the ground?" Trent asked. "It was interesting to say the least, but we can go home after a day or so. The covenant has been kicked from the system, though we don't know if they will come back. A defense screen is being left, and we get to play guard duty on the home front." Trent sighed, and went back to his book.

John sat down on his bunk and pulled an audio log from a container. He pushed it into a player near his bunk, plugged some headphones in, took off his armor and plugged Cortana into a slot nearby, then settled down with the sound of Michael Deconcheti and the Boston Symphony in his ears.


	9. Puppet Strings

-1Garrett was sparring with Trent, trying his best with the sword, but it was no use. He still wasn't used to the enhancements in his body. He had the frame off, so as to keep eye level with the Spartan, though he realized his mistake afterward. The cushioned outside of the sword hit at the back of his feet, and he flipped, followed by a hand grabbing him and holding as to not have him break his neck landing upside down. He was righted up, and at that moment, he surrendered. "You lasted longer than the other marines we've had the chance to spare with" Trent said. "Yea right. How many minutes before I was doing acrobatics after being hit?" He asked. "Seven" he chuckled. "I'll try to push that to ten next time" he smirked. "Lieutenant, you said you needed better training in sniping? Come over here." Garrett walked over to Marie, standing near a stand with an AM 33A in hand. It was far longer than the normal AM 32, but it had a slide lock problem as a disadvantage. "Might I ask you sir, why it is that the Major had us come here to help you train? Aren't you supposed to be training with your squad?" She asked, handing the rifle to him and picking up another. "I… I'm… I'm being trained for a classified assignment, and the Spartans are considered the best soldiers out there, so I get to be trained by you guys. This is my first day, so try not to smash me up too much." She smiled, brought the rifle to her shoulder, pushed her strawberry blonde hair over her right ear and had it flow to her back, brought her right blue eye up to the scope, and fired. The shot was clean and right in the center of the dummy.

"Shit…" He said, whistling afterward. She fired a few more shots, making a pentagon. "Wait, that's more than four rounds" He said, looking at her rifle. "Extended clips. I'm one of those people that hate to have to reload after targeting multiple enemies." She unloaded the clip swiftly and brought another in just as fast. "You try." He moved in, brought the gun to his shoulder, aimed, and was about to fire when… "I see you've gotten along with the others Lieutenant." He turned his head, fired, and the shot hit the center of the forehead. The dummy's head slumped forward from the hit, sand coming from the hole. "Dr. Halsey, ma'am, thank you for having the Major let me train with them. I think I've somewhat improved in dancing with a sword, but I don't know about hitting with it." She chuckled, saw Trent play aiming at the back of his head with the padded sword. He turned, only to find Trent binding the bottom of the hilt with some tape.

"I'm here to tell you that you need to get ready. The council meeting is in a few hours." His face went pale. _Time flies when your playing with Spartans_ he thought. He stood at attention, she left, and he followed, only to turn in the opposite direction for his bunk room. He walked in, stripped quickly, got showered up and clean, shaved, then brushed his teeth and hair. He then dressed carefully in his Marine uniform, showing the 126th Battalion symbol on the shoulder, _The Guardians. _He picked up his cap and straightened everything to be absolutely perfect in the mirror.

As he walked out, he made double sure that the armored arm unit wasn't very visible, so he draped his trench coat over his arm. From what he was told, there was going to be rain in San Francisco, so at least he could cover himself and no one would care. He walked toward the docking bay, walked toward a shuttle, and got to his seat, strapped in after placing his stuff in an over head compartment. He realized that only himself, Dr. Halsey, the Major and a pilot were going down. _Guess no one is getting any time off. _He started to drift into sleep, tired after the training session he had.

Garrett awoke to find that the shuttle was already entering Earth's atmosphere, and the shuttle was bucking around. Dr. Halsey was sitting next to him, reading a book like nothing was happening. He decided to try and go back to sleep, as he was used to moving through atmospheric entry. The shuttle jostled around, things rattling away, but somehow he managed to get some sleep.

When he woke up again, the Major, John was his name, stood nearby while the pilot tried to push on his shoulder. He threw a punch and his hand was caught. "You know, hitting a superior officer can get you court marshaled, even if she's a pilot." _Not superior, just higher ranking _he thought as the CAPTAIN moved away and grumbled. He got up, rubbed his eyes, grabbed his stuff and walked out. Dr. Halsey and Garrett walked toward a waiting car and the major followed close behind. The captain stayed in the shuttle.

The car sped toward the hall he was suppose to be at, which not surprisingly, was behind the walls of a military installation. Rain was pissing down in cartfuls as they neared the entrance. The guard at the front stopped the driver, gained the ID, and let them pass through. They did this about five times, each time seeing a rather large scorpion tank nearby. The place was Area 51. Two guards at every door and a few warthogs making rounds with three marines each. Long swords flew over in groups of four, and a few tanks were seen in critical choke points around the base. Gun nests, AA turrets and bunkers were common.

The car stopped and the driver got out with an umbrella, the passenger in front getting out with another. The driver opened the door for Dr. Halsey and held the umbrella over her head as she made her way to the front door. Both the major and Garrett put their trench coats on, wrapped carefully up, and walked out, pouring rain on top of them. They were soldiers, and this was the way marines moved. "I know you marines don't let weather stop you, but you could and least try and stay a bit dry when you enter the hall." They walked up to the door, Dr. Halsey having the door opened for her, and they walked in.

Both Garrett and John quickly went to the bathroom to get to a hand blow dryer and use it on their heads. They dried off how much they could, then walked out and took their coats off. They then both sat on a bench while Dr. Halsey was let into the hall. They both sat there for about an hour before someone told them to enter. Garrett was summoned first. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked in. He stood at attention, saluted, and reported in.

"At ease Lieutenant. As you've probably guessed, this query is about you. We would like to know about this armor you have acquired and won't give up." He was going to speak, but cut off by Dr. Halsey's voice. "He IS willing to give it up, but he can't figure out how, and neither can I. It won't let us study it and any possible way to remove it could possibly harm Lieutenant Gryphen." He stood there, waiting to proceed. "Why not tell us your story Lieutenant."

The third time he told his story to his superiors and still none of them got it. He did not know how to fully use it without practice, and they were already discussing how to use him to full effect. "You can't use him in anything until he is through whatever training is needed. As for having him under the command of the UNSC, he is already a part of SPARTAN II program and MJOLNIR project" Halsey's voice said again in the dark. "Unfortunately for you, doctor, I've been doing some studying on the SPARTAN II program and it states that only SPARTAN IIs, people who are augmented with cybernetic upgrades and chosen by the selection program, as well as have the MJOLNIR armor on are allowed in the SPARTAN II program. So he CAN be in the UNSC, and under our supervision, though he was in the UNSC to begin with, Ms. Halsey." Her voice was silent for a few moments, and Garrett feared what she had told him was going to come true. These people didn't know what he had, and were already thinking about what to use him for. A little toy soldier, similar to a Spartan, just no lee way.

"He's a special part of the program" was finally heard from Dr. Halsey. "What special part? How could he be a special part of the program when he was a marine! This suped up grunt couldn't possibly be in your wind up doll program! He's been on Valeius for the past year, fighting the covenant with the rest of the marines stationed there!" Another moment of silence. A bead of sweat fell down Garrett's forehead. "He was one of the scouts for the next batch of Spartans. He sent reports about new children we might be interested in. Some of them were quite useful." Multiple voices popped up, whispering heard everywhere. "Lieutenant Gryphen. Is this true?" A loud voice was heard. He had done scouting of defenses and counted heads on schools in Valeius, but he thought that was to make sure the last attack didn't kill anybody. If he didn't lie, he'd become a puppet for some high ranking government official to play with as seen fit. "Yes sir that was what I did in the past, though as you might guess, scouts are obviously left out of the loop for what we were doing, as it was classified data." Silence again. "Indeed…" The voice said again. "We will discuss this after we have heard from the Spartan outside. You are dismissed." He saluted, turned crispy, and walked out the doors, with the major walking right by him and the doors closing again.

He sighed in relief and sat on the bench again. After another hour of talking in the hall, the major came back out, no one following him. "Dr. Halsey will meet us on the _Resilience. _She is in a discussion with the rest of the council." Garrett acknowledged and they both walked back outside, a car waiting for them and the door opened for them to jump in. They were driven back to the star port and brought back up to the ship in a shuttle. Garrett walked back to his quarters, taking his dress uniform off and placing it in a clothing case, putting some fatigues on. He called up the Spartan crew area, asked Marie and Trent if they wanted to spar some more, but Trent couldn't make it. However, Marie and Jax were interested, and they headed to practice room 1. There, Garrett finished the sniping he started before, and had Marie wrap her arms around him trying to help him aim better. Needless to say he missed the mark a few times because of this, so he told her he could make do with words, and instead of doing anything with explosives with Jax, he played chess, and lost, and poker, and lost, and even Jin, and lost. The day ended with Jax and Marie having to do maintenance on their equipment, so he went back to his bunk room and fell asleep.


	10. Operation Hamster Wheel

-1Garrett awoke to the voice of Dr. Halsey. "Lieutenant Gryphen, I assume stressing over where you're going to be working at isn't what marines tend to do?" Garrett's right eye opened, and then his right eyeball rolled around to find the voice. Once he had acquired his target, he opened his left eye. "You know what they say, "You volunteered for this gig. We take care of you, but you WILL do what we say" Garrett grumbled. "Would you like to know what the council has agreed on?" He eyed her, a bit uncertain as to what she would say.

CAPTAIN Garrett Gryphen, UNSC Marine Corp, main attachment to Project SLEIPNIR, Mobile Fire Support and Suppression for the SPARTAN II program, walked down the hall to the docking bay. His new uniform was clean and ready for the ceremony. He didn't much like to go to these things, but he really didn't have a choice. This was a ceremony to give him his pips, and if he didn't, well, he could always stay a Lieutenant…

ONE MONTH LATER 

Garrett was strapped in to the locking clamps of the Pelican, and five Spartans and ten ODSTs sat in the seats nearby. This was the first time these guys had gotten to see what was coming with them on the upcoming mission. The ODSTs were a bit surprised to find a fifteen foot armored soldier armed to the teeth being loaded into the Pelican. Garrett was barely able to squeeze into the damn thing too. He was kneeling, almost to the point of prone position, and it was doing a number on his neck. "Auron, engage all sensor systems to full alert. Sync all fire control sections to slave drive two. Place First and second generators on standby. Keep Dark Matter Reactor on at 50. Deactivate Slip Stream Core, because we won't need it on the ground." Auron acknowledged all of it in one second. "I suggest you use weapons configuration C for this assignment." Garrett heard it loud and clear. He switched a few things around with a thought, diverged secondary armaments to locked position, and brought up some general purpose trooper gear. A Projectile auto cannon rifle was placed in his right hand, an XLC-36 "Pepper Box" locked onto his left shoulder, followed by some grenades on the hip plates and some machine guns attached to his collar points. A rocket launching backpack attached between the wings, and an LM-6P "Sledgehammer" Anti-Tank Missile launcher grappled onto the back of his right shoulder. An Ion Mortar Cannon strapped to the back of his left, and the large black tower shield seemed to always be attached to his left arm. An energy blade could protrude from the tip, and two energy sabers were carried in the left hip plate. A small vibro knife was in the calves of the armor, plus two, what looked like fold out handguns but had punch equivalent to a rifled slug shotgun, were carried in internal holsters on the hips. An extra two machine guns were in the helmet, looking like two gold rimmed eyes on either side of the helmet.

"This is Eagle leader to all Pelicans. All squads, standby for a hot LZ. Covenant is heavy just over the hill. Thermals are in the surrounding area, possible camouflage in wet sector 43 Zulu." Garrett heard the group leader, John 117, verify they were near the drop zone. "Sparrow squad, roger." "Cardinal squad, roger." "Raven squad, roger" Garrett said.

The pelicans swooped in, spraying as much area as they could with their chin guns and missiles, then moved around a mountain side and landed. "GO! GO! GO!" was heard over the com channels as combat chatter hit hard. Marines were in the surrounding area, trying to defend a city that was surrounded by a beautiful mountain range in the south. The city was huge, almost as big as New San Francisco after the rebuild. Baraqa was going to be difficult to defend, as there were multiple major openings to the city, being one of the main spaceports for the planet Arcturus. Garrett inched his way out of the pelican, the others slipping by and moving into the city. Raven squad covered the pelicans long enough for Garrett to get out and the pelicans to lift off, some of them being hit by anti-aircraft fire. "All squad leaders this freq, move in to primary LZ." Garrett and multiple others acknowledged the Major's orders, and pulled his squad in. One of the Spartans happened to be Marie, which he was glad was nearby. From what he heard, she was just as a good as a previous Spartan, who died trying to defend a Station near Reach. "Raven 2, pull shot on 8th street, cover the warthogs there; Raven 3, provide her cover fire to get into position; Jackson, kick it up a notch! You're lagging!" He yelled to two Spartans and an ODST. "Sparrow squad, grab the warthogs and move through Main Street. Cardinal squad, cover LZ. All other squads, fire at will and move through. Bring as many back as you can" Garrett heard on channel four.

The mission wasn't supposed to be reinforcement of the troops in this city; it was suppose to be an evacuation of the people still alive to evac point three. Evac point two would bring what remaining defenders there were back to the ships hiding outside the solar system in an asteroid belt, while squads would move back to LZ and draw fire long enough for everyone to get away, and then dust off. This was going to be a hard mission for Garrett, as he didn't exactly like Urban Combat. Hell, he avoided it like the plague. "All Ravens, you are free to move. Try not to scare away the inhabitants." The Spartans and Hell jumpers chuckled at that, and then moved out. This was what Garrett wanted. He couldn't move as well with a squad slowing him down, even if there were Spartans there.

Garrett skated down Williams street, moving near a mall, and heard the chatter of a warthog's LAAG. He boosted toward the sound, to find two marines driving straight by it, with two ghosts hot on its tail. The warthog turned, skidded around a corner, and was gone, but the ghosts weren't so lucky. One of them ran into the nearby wall trying to catch up, while the other was unloaded on by Garrett. He continued toward where there were still relatively intact buildings and places where he detected human life signs. The signs were coming from the mall, but he didn't really want to go in. The place was giant, and a fantastic place for him to get ambushed. He pushed on in, breaking through a glass wall and moved along the flooring, then jumped up to the second floor. He felt a plasma bolt fly by, and then another hit the shields of the armor. He turned, and fired, to find a Brute shredded and a jackal not much better off. He continued through the area, killing mind controlled grunts and jackals, to get to the food court. There, behind most of the counters, were human life signs. Garrett walked up to one of them, heard a woman shriek, and then cower. Some of the men jumped up and either fired some handguns or rifles at him, or tried to tackle him to the ground. He shook heavily, throwing men everywhere, and fired shots to knock the weapons out of their hands. "Whoa, hang on, I'm a good guy. You all need to head towards the marine camp at the back of the city. I'll cover you." No one would move. "GO! NOW! The covenant could be here any minute!" Some of the people got up, and ran towards the door, followed by everyone else. Garrett followed, covering them where he could, and stopping them where he couldn't. Once certain places were secure, they continued on, and he eventually got to the evac point, all 200 of them. "This is Echo 632B to anyone out there! I need back up! We're being hit hard and request aerial assistance! If anyone can hear me!" Garrett heard it well enough. "Auron where…" And a 3D map appeared in his HUD and a pinpoint as to where the signal came from. It was moving, but oddly, it seemed to be behind enemy lines. _No one would be stupid enough to go there, especially when most of the pelicans are needed to get people out of here._ "Auron, check…" and before he could finish his sentence, the pelican was brought up, reconfigured because of sensor scans, and brought back up as a phantom under some sort of hologram camouflage. The three banshees and one seraph were firing at it, but from the shots angle they were passing by the actual armor and hitting into the hologram, making it look like it was under attack.

"Hang in there, Echo 632. Raven leader is inbound." He boosted toward the signal, found the target, blew the fighters out of the sky, and blasted half the phantoms right engine off. However, Garrett had made a mistake, and against the covenant, mistakes were bad. He heard a lock on signal ping, turned, and found a plasma missile flying straight at him. He didn't even have time to dodge.

The Major was in the general vicinity of Moore Park when he saw the Battle Frame get hit. It tumbled, skidded on its back about twenty feet, the shields flickering. He didn't know if Gryphen was wounded or if he was dead, or whether the shields had taken the shot. He ran toward the downed figure, Marie being on a nearby building picking off any covenant nearby. One of the new hover tanks had gotten a lock on Garrett and took the shot. It was getting ready to fire another shot, the Spartan too close to turn and get out of range. At that moment, the Frame lifted its torso and sat up, engaging its Anti-Tank missile launcher and fired a long high explosive present toward it. The missile flew at mach 10, hitting the tank in a micro second, and punching clean through, then continuing into another, and finally detonating, destroying the entire tank blockade in that street. Garrett shook his head. "You alright?" John asked. "You ever had that fond childhood memory of getting hit in the head with a dodge ball?" Garrett asked. "Yes." "Well, I don't think it was that fond, and this is another I will add to the list of shitty things happening to me." He stood up, shaking his head again, then grabbing the Spartan and diving, bringing his rifle to bare and firing at a strafing phantom. The ship tried to land, but a warthog kept pounding the cockpit with rail fire and it crashed into a sky scraper. Marie was on the roof of it. The ceiling collapsed and she tumbled inside. "Oh hell…" Garrett yelled, and both he and the Spartan ran toward the structure.

Marie was lying on top of a piece of rubble, her rifle broken and her left arm was detected as having muscle tearing. Apparently, she decided to use her arm to cushion her fall, otherwise she might have more severe problems. "I'll get her back to LZ, you continue with the mission Captain." Raven Leader acknowledged, saw Marie give a thumbs up to him with her right arm, then he was off. First was first, and that was to make sure fewer phantoms came in. This meant finding the source of where the reinforcements were coming from, and then destroying it. Auron had locked onto three starships already,_ The Isolation, The Holy Word, _and _Vengeance._ Resistance was incredibly heavy getting near them.

Garrett dashed around a corner as a missile flew by, taking a huge chunk out of a nearby building. He snapped out of the alley he was in, sending walking fire as he boosted to a wall on the opposite side of the street. His feet latched onto it, as well as making the covenant realize the thing they were fighting didn't have to stay on the ground. He shot two missiles from the XLC then emptied another clip into a few banshees flying in low. He dropped a grenade below him, detached from the wall and landed on the roof of another building. "Auron, get a damn firing solution on those things, I can't stay here forever" he yelled, seeing his shields get hit by no less than seven directions of plasma fire. The shields were holding, but the plasma fire wasn't infantry, making the power percentage for the shields read 90. _That was only a few ships hitting me _he thought. "Firing solution found. Fire when ready." The anti-tank missile launcher switched to a large cannon, and the rifle was clipped to the hip plates. He brought the cannon to bear, and the barrel extended, only to separate into three parts away from each other. Electricity surged around the barrel, and he loaded a three round clip into the chamber, then the weapon locked the first shot in place.

He gained the lock on, felt the _whoomph _from the gun and heard the concussive blast as the energy like shell dashed toward the offending target blocking his view of the sky. The shot hit the shields of the ship, and pushed through them, not even losing one bit of its speed. "Anionic warheads are specifically made to ignore shielding systems of starships" Auron piped up. The shot connected with the armor of the ship, punched through, and there was nothing for about four seconds. Then the ship blew in a shockwave effect, tearing apart the other two ships, and destroying quite bit of buildings nearby. The blast was so bright; the sensors onboard dimmed the field of vision. "Pretty…" He said to himself. Com Chatter suddenly erupted with sounds of people hurt or in need of help, but some of it was "The covenant are pulling back! Whoever took those things down, I'm glad their on our side!" He scanned the surrounding area. No other covenant worth his effort, as most of the people seemed to be evacuated in the time he took to make his way to these ships.

Garrett turned to leave, and heard a com channel set for officers only beep on. "Gryphen, John, get to the _Resilience _now. We have some urgent information for you" Dr. Halsey said. "Alright all squads pull back. Wash fire on six. Get to dust off. Long Swords will cover." All acknowledged and Garrett boosted back to the drop zone. Again he loaded up onto the pelican, and saw another covenant ship trying to descend. It took out one of the pelicans leaving evac point 2. He raised the cannon while in the pelican, and as the craft lifted off, he fired. The blast knocked everyone into their seats, and even rocked the flyer as the shell flew toward the starship. It hit, blew, and knocked a large sky scraper apart. "I thought the idea was to save the city, not destroy it" one ODST said. "Look soldier, everyone is either being evacuated or is dead at the moment, and that city is going to become a ghost town. So either take down as many of the bastards as possible and shut up, or you can stay in this scrap heap and fight your own fight." The ODST became shocked, and then replied. "Sir, glad you took that ship out, Sir!" And off the pelican flew, closing the back hatch and flying toward its own carrier of destruction.


	11. Ship of the Line

-1Garrett sat in the briefing room after only three free hours of being back on board the ship. After debriefing from the evacuation of Arcturus and Valeius, then moving from the system because of a larger covenant fleet moving in, Garrett was pretty tuckered out. He had seen ground combat, anti-air combat, anti-ship combat, and had to reinforce the marines to take on boarding parties. Now he was going to be in another upcoming mission.

Spartans and ODSTs completely surrounded him. All of them were sitting at com seats with PADD Attachments to the chairs. VR linking were wired from the seats to goggles for everyone, though the Spartans just had the info downloaded to their helmets. It was kind of odd that everyone else seemed to be using high tech writing tools and Dr. Halsey still used pen and paper. From what she told him, you can't lose data on paper if the systems get fragged, and you couldn't even burn the paper as they were pyrofoam treated. The only thing she had to worry about was running out of ink… Garrett had noticed that every officer on board was inside, and Dr. Halsey was there as well, along with a tech for each Spartan.

"Alright you monkeys! Military intelligence has given us a very important target. R&D has confirmed that the target is an unknown ship moving through the Selphus system. It is an unknown design, and possible covenant, or, something they call "A forerunner artifact." Garrett was drinking a bit of coffee at that moment, and both him and a few officers, John included, sprayed coffee from their mouths. "Um… did you say forerunner?" John asked. "Yes sir. The techies said that this could be some ancient technology, or if it's bad, a new covenant ship. If that's the case, we are to board and attempt to neutralize the crew, then capture and bring the bucket back." The Marine Captain continued to talk, Garrett and John obviously not listening. They had pretty much already got the jist of things. They were to enter, kill, maim, and destroy. What seemed to come naturally for them at the moment. "Any questions?" The marine asked. "Alright! Move out!" And everyone started to leave.

Garrett was in an Albatross this time, and was happy that his neck wouldn't have a crick in it. The Albatross was a lot more spacious than the snug Pelican he rode down on to Arcturus. The Major and four other Spartans were in the craft as well, followed by twenty ODSTs and ten marine recon. The ship was about to launch when Dr. Halsey cut in through com 6. "Garrett, new orders for you. You're to head in by yourself. From the looks of it, you may need to provide cover fire for the transports if things get hairy." Garrett acknowledged, disengaged from the craft, and then waited. The Albatross had the clamps rocket it through a portal, then had the blockade doors behind it close. Garrett walked over to a large airlock and had the doors close behind him. "Uh… sir… c-clamp down y-your legs in the locking s-system and… uh… be r-ready for the airlocks to r-release." Garrett heard the stuttering and piped up. "Hey, is this a new launch officer?" He asked. "Uh… y-yes, yes sir, I am." _Oh great. Just what I need. A Pad jockey whose gonna forget to keep spatial decompression out of the picture. _"Command, this is Raven leader, I'm switching to manual for the airlock systems. I don't trust this kid to have enough experience with not having me fly out the door with everything not bolted down." He was given clearance, switched to M-3 Node, corrected the problems the officer didn't notice, and depressurized the airlock. The doors on the outside opened, and engaged the main wing Verne's.

When Garrett got half way toward the ship, the Albatrosses were still behind him. He tracked his heat control systems carefully, held his stealth signature to a minimum and keep chaff and flare systems on standby. If the mother was gonna wake up and blow something away, he was gonna unload on it. The ship seemed to be unable to be scanned by anything he sent at it. "This ship… Goraha Complex" was heard from Auron. "What did you say?" Garrett asked, but suddenly fire flew out from unknown weapon systems, and right by him. "Holy crap!" He yelled, moving his left leg away, but he learned the shot wasn't for him; the pulse energy blast hit an Albatross coming toward it, seeming to be ahead of the others. He knew what was on that craft: thirty ODSTs. He brought his weapons to bear and was gonna fire when Auron again talked. "Do not engage. Do not engage. Call all transports back." He heard what Auron said, thought about it a second, and at that second another shot was fired, hitting a pelican with some marines and a few tech specialists. "Back off! Back off! Target is bristling! I repeat! Target is bristling!" He yelled over the com channels.

The transports behind him slowed, blowing emergency thrusters in front to bring them to a stop. Oddly enough, the ship wasn't firing at him. "Goraha Complex, Prototype Dashra Super Carrier, will not allow unknown life forms aboard. All humans are to stay clear." Garrett floated in space, three fourths of the way between the ship and the fleet. He kept his weapons at the ready. "So what, this thing is another techno wonder like the Battle Frame?" Garrett asked. "Affirmative. The Dashra class carrier was created to carry the Battle Frames to planets, as well as assist in colony construction, fleet assistance, and fleet construction." Garrett gawked. "YOU MEAN THAT THING CAN MAKE SHIPS!" He yelled to Auron. "Affirmative. Unfortunately, it will only allow us near it, as all defenses seem to be on full alert to keep unknown forces away. It is registering us as an ally." Garrett tried to scratch his head, but rubbed his armored fingers against the armored visor. "So you're telling me, that that ship, the one in front of us, can make ships and has a regiment or something of this armor?" He asked, probing for more information. "Part of that is correct, however, the Battle Frame was being created at another main complex. This is the only Battle Frame made. The production designs are not onboard that ship." Garrett thought for a moment, floating in a kick-boxer like stance.

Before he could come up with a solution, he gained a com call. "This is Dr. Halsey. What is going on out there? What's happening?" She asked. He gained another com call from the Albatross the major was on. "Captain, what is happening out there? What is the situation?" _Might as well hit two birds with one stone…_

"This is Raven Leader. I believe…" And before he could finish that sentence, the ship in front of him started to move toward him, and seemed to be opening a small cargo bay from Garrett's point of view. The cargo bay was definitely getting bigger as the ship came closer, and he now realized that that was only ONE of the bays this thing had. He also realized that the bay that was opening was about as large the _Resilience._ "Um… The ship seems to be…" And his communications was cut off. "Raven leader to Resilience. Respond over." No response. He turned to see if the ship was taking fire, but it seemed unharmed. "The ships defense systems are emitting ECM waves as protection. The bay is open for us to enter" Auron told him. "Huh?" he looked down at the bay. He was hovering about seventy feet up and away from the doors of the bay, and the lights on the outside were blinking an entrance path. "Hold on one fucking minute! You want me to enter there!" He asked. "Affirmative. We will land and gain entrance to the ship." Garrett thought of his options. His com systems were being jammed, and if he tried to crack through, the ship could probably either easily overpower him, Auron could stop him, or it might consider him hostile and attack. He also was underneath a ship that he didn't know if it was manned by covenant or cannibal monsters, and the fleet was a sitting duck not knowing what was happening. He had no backup, and if this ship was forerunner, then his weapons might not do anything but annoy it.

"Ugh… I don't get paid enough for this shit…" He said to himself, and descended to the landing area. The doors swiftly closed. "We are moving" Auron said. "WHAT!" He yelled. "The ship is moving away from the area. It is going to attempt a slip space jump." That was all he needed to hear. "I knew it was a bad idea to do that! Can't you stop them or something? Tell them to stop and hold still?" He asked frantically. He was going to be kidnapped in an alien ship and may never get back. "Connecting… (Long pause)" Garrett stood there and looked around worried. He searched high and low for anything that looked like a lock panel to open the doors, without success. The weird part was, nobody was around even if there was one. "You have been asked for a reason from Ilana." Garrett thought for a moment. "Who is Ilana?" He asked. "She is the AI that functions this ship."

Garrett was shocked for a moment. _An AI was running the whole ship? What about crew?_

"Are there any crew?" He asked. "Negative. She has said you are the first aboard." _First aboard? What?_ "Um… tell her we just need to stop. I need to run a scan on something." A momentary pause, followed by Auron again. "She would like to know what it is you are trying to scan. She may be of assistance." Garrett thought for a moment. "Auron, can she hear us?" He asked, hoping the answer was a no. "Negative. I am acting as a "middle man" as humans call it." He checked all com systems just to make sure. "Auron, I'm telling a white lie. Tell her something to make her stop! I can't leave the fleet." Another pause of silence, somewhat long this time. "She has granted the stop. She apologizes for inconveniencing you because of moving immediately after we had gotten here." Garrett sighed in relief. "Out of curiosity, what did you say to her?" He asked. "I had told her that you were busy playing a "Video Game" and that if she moved at this critical moment, you would not finish work in the game. I told her it was training." He stood there for a moment, blinking under the armor. "Hope she doesn't find out we lied." Auron didn't answer. There was a heavy silence in the air now. The doors to the halls opened on the other side of the bay. The place was quite empty; the site being what seemed to be only a landing spot.

Garrett decided standing around in a closed room he probably couldn't break out of was boring, and anything was better than staying here. "Ilana has opened access doors. She has illuminated the path to the bridge. She is awaiting you to move there." Garrett looked around one more time, wondering if she might be watching him through cameras in the ceiling or something. Auron told him yes, but not with cameras, instead using Multi Phased Flux Ultra Sonics to create the image as if similar to an action movie. Action movies always show the coolest angles.

"You should turn the armor off and move to the bridge." Garrett's eyes widened. "Not a fucking chance! I still don't know if something bad could happen to me! The armor is a good thing! Especially in unknown terrain!" Auron noted that he would not fit through the halls in his current state. Garrett grumbled something that was incomprehensible, then deactivated the armor. He still had his duraplast Titanium A under, but he felt a bit vulnerable now that he didn't have enhanced shields and other stuff. Hell, if this ship had the power he thought it did, he'd rather be in a Star fortress than here in a marine combat suit.

He walked on, moving through the hallways that were lit, blinking orange lights on the sides showing him the way. He moved to a lift, and it elevated to another level, and with much speed. The doors opened and there he was in a large bridge area. There was a main seat for a captain he thought, and at least four piloting seats for extreme or manual maneuvers, even though it looked like the AI could fly the thing on her own. Multiple other seats in descended pod areas were probably for sensors or communications, but one thing was for sure, he noticed something in the back. He lowered his rifle to the clip on his hip, and moved to investigate. It seemed to be some sort of pod, but he couldn't see what was inside with a bluish fog floating around inside. Suddenly, the pod door popped and unclamped locks around it. He jumped back and readied his rifle. The door hissed open similar to a cryo pod, and the misty fog pushed out. He kept his eye on the opening, and as the fog dissipated, he saw the form of a woman. She was wearing a white glossy suit of some sort, with a small white glossy jacket covering over it, about the size to be over her shoulder blades. She wore a similar skirt, and similar hip high boots, that seemed to disappear under the skirt. She wore similar long gloves as well. The odd thing was she had waist length long sapphire blue hair, and interestingly enough, what looked like Elvin ears.

_Could this be what forerunners are supposed to look like? All those ideas of fantasy novels humans have written about elves being around might be subconscious thoughts of these guys. _He lowered his gun again, and moved slightly closer. He peered at her, a little bit unnerved by the comparison between humans and her body. She looked quite normal, aside from the ears and hair color, and was quite beautiful. If it weren't for what she could be and the ears, not to mention where he was, he might've tried to catch her eye and gain her attention. She looked to be around the age of 18-21, but if she wasn't human, she could be any age.

He soon was face to face with the being, her eyes closed. He took a closer look at her ears and hair. The ears were pointed, and somewhat long, and not curved at the end like he had read in some novels. _Creative writing to make the stories different so as to not call the wrath of the copyright gods _he thought. Her hair seemed normal, although in just the right angle the blue shined quite beautifully and had a bit of a sparkle.

He burst back to combat readiness, however, when her sapphire blue eyes suddenly opened, and he jumped almost a meter back with his gun ready. "H-hello Garrett Gryphen" She said, somewhat shyly. She noticed the gun aimed at her and the wariness in his eyes. "I, I mean you no harm. My, my name is Ilana. Auron told you, about me being here, remember?" She said, getting out of the pod, and now shifting and fidgeting around a bit, trying to get out of the aim of the gun. Garrett was trying his best to show no motion or emotion, as he tracked her moving around. "So you're the one Auron was talking about?" He asked. "Y-yes. I, I'm the battle AI for the _Nexus._ I-I'm at your service." She seemed to be stuttering, as if she was either nervous or shy. _How could an AI be shy?_ Garrett slowly lowered his gun. "Ooookay…" he said, still really confused as to what the hell was going on.


	12. Nexus

-1"We will begin the slip space jump." Garrett stood there for a moment, registering what she just said. He turned, and saw out of some sort of view screen, the outside space change to some sort of worm hole, and then they were in a new area. None of the fleet was seen anywhere. "Where are we? What did you do!" He asked a bit shocked, and somewhat annoyed, possibly hostile. "I-I protected you from t-that fleet behind you. We, we moved away from the area to a sub plane. Y-you are safe here." He looked around for anything he could read. Most of the labeling around the area was in English, that he could tell, but that might have been because Auron told her how to make the place translate. "Why did you do that? They weren't hostile. They were friendly." She stood there, interlacing her hands and fingers together in front of her, looking innocent. "I apologize, I did not know. They were moving in mass toward me and I didn't want them to try and attack. As you were much farther ahead, I thought you were running away from them."

Garrett sat down for a moment in a nearby seat.

"Can't you go back? Take us back." Ilana closed her eyes. "I can do that, but why would you want to? Your place is here on board this ship." Garrett gawked at her. "Hell no! My place is on board MY ship, with all the other marines and Spartans, defending human colonies against the covenant." She opened her eyes again. "Then why was that fleet moving toward me? They seemed quite intent on boarding." The captain reclipped his rifle to his side, and took his helmet off. He ruffled his hair a bit. "We weren't invading; we thought this ship was either a new covenant starship or a forerunner artifact. Either way, we were trying to take it away from the covenant or use the artifact for research. We need all the tech we can get." Ilana sat down on a counter panel. "W-well, regardless of how much assistance you, I mean you and your people need, I cannot let them on board this ship. I-I'm deeply sorry, but only similar people with your armor are allowed or registered personnel. Please forgive me."

Garrett scratched behind his left ear. "Well, so we won't board, but can we still have the ship assist us?" He asked. "Um, y-yes, yes I can assist, though you aren't allowed to take any technology from here for research. From the scan I did on the ships, the fleet was quite inferior to the Nexus. To give away technology would break the evolution directive issued. And also, they may want to dismantle objects here… and may try to dissect me…" He looked up, wondering what she just said. "Huh? What's the evolution directory thing?" he asked. "You, you don't know? I, I thought Auron had told you about it. The evolution directive keeps technologies created by our creators from falling into the wrong hands. It can't be allowed." _So that must be why Auron had those no other pilot defenses on the frame._

"Well, still, take me back. That is my fleet and my duty." She sighed. "Are, are you going to come back? I know they will want to dissect me… I don't want that to happen." Garrett thought for a bit. "Well, we'll see how things go. The one side effect would be no other crew on board. As for taking you apart…" He asked Auron if she was an AI. "She is an organoid with an advanced AI. She is similar in action to a human being." She shifted slightly. "Well, well I'm on board, and then there is Auron, so, so you won't be entirely alone." "(Chuckle) I didn't mean that. I mean if there isn't any crew on board, if combat came along, how could you repair the ship? I can't help, as I don't have the training as an engineer. And what about supplies? You expect them to just grow on trees? And what if an evacuation of a colony was needed? Our ships double as transports for the civilians to get to a safe place. You just said you won't let anyone else on board." She sat there for a moment, slightly depressed in looks. "Well, well the supplies are not a problem. The replication systems could take care of that. T-the repairs, if any needed to take place, w-would be done by the maintenance robots and auto-repair units. The protection of civilians… hopefully I will not have to do that, b-but if needed I can have them stay in the landing bays if you needed them, though they wouldn't be allowed to leave there to go anywhere else in the ship." Garrett accepted what she said. "So you will come back?" She said hopefully. "Uh… well, that depends on what my superiors say and what I'm ordered to do. Sorry." The hope in her face slightly lowered. "I understand. Hopefully you will be able to be allowed to stay. It has been a very long time since I have seen anyone, save from sensors." Garrett looked at the view screen. "So, out of curiosity, is this a forerunner ship?" He asked. "Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question. I-I'm sorry that I can't, b-but you must understand it is not my fault. The production matrices and species verification data were not loaded. I'm very sorry." _Same as Auron._ _For all we know, the frame and this ship might not be forerunner at all and might just be lost technology from some other alien race, or maybe a destroyed race that was attacked by the covenant. _

"Can't we go back?" He asked. "I would take you back, but as it seems, the fleet is under attack." Garrett jumped up. "WHAT!" He yelled. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry, but it is the truth." She turned her head away, slightly scared, almost as if she was waiting for punishment. Garrett thought for a moment. "Go back now! They need help! How many covenant ships?" He said. "I, I believe 20 ships are there, but I cannot. The main systems on board are not fully online, so that is why I could only use the point defense systems against the transports behind you." _That was point defense? Helluva long range for point defense _he thought. "Can't you get back though?" He asked again. "N-no. I-I'm sorry. The main core and sub cores are not brought online. It will take some time to bring all systems to full status. I'm very sorry. I only awakened a few days ago." She awaited punishment again, closing her eyes. He couldn't figure out what was up with her. _Did the creators of this ship get angry? Did they discipline her if she didn't meet up to expectations?_

He felt guilty for yelling to her, but it wasn't in anger, but in desperation. He had to get back to the fleet and assist them. The group was only fourteen ships, and wouldn't last against a force of twenty battle cruisers. "Damn! Auron, is the frame capable of doing the worm hole thingy too?" He asked, checking his options. "Affirmative, although you are not yet trained in using it. It will be quite dangerous to use." He didn't have a choice. He was stuck in a pocket plane and it was the only way out. He started running for the door, and saw that Ilana seemed quite depressed. "Ilana. Are there any special com systems I should know about to contact the ship? Once things are sorted out and all…" She looked over, hope suddenly awakening in her eyes. "You may come back?" She asked. "Well, it's better than having this ship go to waste or get captured or destroyed by the covenant. Anything?" He asked again. "There is a subspace Tran communications unit that you can send to. Auron should have the signal codes. I will leave the pocket plane once you have sent a signal. How, how may I ask can I contact you? I, I don't have the production schematics for the battle frame, so I don't know what it has equipped." Auron sent a data connection to her with the communications status of the frame. "Thank you." Garrett opened the door to the lift, and before the door closed, heard "Good luck!" come from her.

He shot to the landing bay, and turned the armor on. The doors unlocked and opened, and he moved through some sort of energy field to keep the atmosphere in. He lifted off the ground and engaged all thrusters and Verne's. The boost pushed him away from the ship and out as far as he could go. He didn't want to do anything to the _Nexus _by using the slip gate too close. He activated the gate, and was flung through. He realized it wasn't such a good idea when he was moving through the hole and careened straight into the _Resilience,_ and tried desperately to stop. He breached the hull of a bulkhead cargo door and slammed into the ground, bouncing along the way, moving at incredible speed. He busted through a tank and lifted a pelican onto its side, and brought all of his boosters into reverse. He crashed upside down into the next wall, and Dr. Halsey had been behind it. She dove out of the way in the hallway, seeing a giant imprint of a large humanoid figure. She ran out through a door into the bay and found the armored figure implant upside down in the titanium wall. "OW…" He said, still placed in the large body sized dent. "Auron… remind me not to do that again." "Noted" he said. Many other marines had dove out of the way along his destructive path, and were just noticing what he was. Just about everybody was staring at him. The metal frame of the wall eventually gave way, and the plates that held him in the wall broke, having him slide onto his back. "New feeling of pain. Yep, that's my new motto. 'I'm here to discover new ways of feeling pain.' That is why I was born." He got up, and felt the ship rock. The covenant was really wailing on the fleet, and the ship wouldn't last much longer. The door he had burst through had its emergency doors closed over it, and he had to get outside again. "Open that bay door!" He yelled at a tech near another sealed door, and made a beeline toward it. The tech was scared shitless, and smashed the emergency button for the door to open. The locks burst, the door blew open, and he flew out, the emergency doors for that opening closing behind it.

He boosted toward the back of the ship, seeing a seraph and a Long Sword battle it out nearby. Just as the little craft had hit its target, it was struck down by incoming laser fire from a battle cruiser, the blast trying to cut through the Resilience as well. The armor, however, was holding fairly well, far better than normal titanium A. Scorch marks were striping all along the outside of the ship, some damage in certain areas, but she was still hanging in there. He looked up, fired a barrage of missile fire toward a group of incoming assault transports, and then boosted toward the escape pod of a long sword, grabbing it and throwing it toward a cargo bay. He turned again to find twelve seraphs closing on him.

Plasma fire spewed from their ports, and he dodged quickly. He launched some MIST chaff and then boosted behind, allowing the super cooled bits of liquid helium to catch the plasma fire sent at him and provide an extra layer of defense against ship mounted weaponry. He saw how quickly three ships took away just 10 of his shields last time, and now he was going against 18 of them now. Two of the cruisers were blown away, the _Excalibur _pulling some really heavy maneuvers to bring two ships in line with each other to take maximum effect of its eight Super MAC guns. Four of the shots connected and punched through, taking on another ship on the other side, while the other four fired at will towards the other ships. The _Resilience _provided cover fire, why the _Macantire_ strafed a few of the ships with its own laser weaponry. Gun fire was everywhere, as long fired bullets continued along their vector, and sometimes hitting an ally.

Garrett brought the cannon he used last time out, and with the "Panzer Faust" he nicknamed it, fire off a shot at two ships, and third actually missed. The third shot detonated behind the ship, and knocked its shields off. He continued in with the fusion rifle he was carrying, and pounded on the outer hull, blowing parts off everywhere. He noticed an odd looking bubble on one of the ships sides, and as he didn't know what it could do at the moment, seeing as it hadn't fired anything, it was definitely tracking him. He lobbed a grenade toward it, and although it would be slow moving, the grenade would eventually connect with something and most probably the engines. He fired a plasma torpedo at the little blister and saw the armor blow and the blister pop. Surrounding damage to the hull was also heavy. Com chatter was hitting like crazy, and he couldn't get any noticeable sense out of what people were saying. Auron cut out some talking, and he could hear the desperation. "Echo 6! Scissor right! Pull back to the main guns!" "Riker 2, cover the _Aricus_. Stop that seraph!" "All squads this freq, fall back to mobile position 3. Remodulate the streams of the energy weapons." "I'm hit! I'm hit! Blowing pod!" "Excalibur to Mirage. We need backup! I repeat we need backup! Their hitting from all sides!" Garrett blew the clip from the cannon and loaded another. He fired two more shots, and then as he fired the last, a seraph flew right in front of him, the shot blowing right at point blank range. He was flung straight back, and slammed hard into the armor of the _Resilience._ His hitting the armor made it buckle, and he heard the strain and creak as it shifted under the pressure he just caused.

"Shields down to 30. Do not do that again." Garrett raised an eye brow, and felt blood trickle down his forehead. He felt dizzy, and he was in a lot of pain. "Engaging emergency medical." A med hypo inserted into his arm, and the blood on his head started to stop, as he could feel the cut on his forehead start to close. A pain reliever was induced, followed by an adrenaline booster. His head hurt now, with a dull ache, and the aspirin in the pain reliever didn't help much. He blew the clip of the cannon again, and switched to the fusion rifle again, to continue to destroy smaller targets. He locked on a squad of Shadows, a new fighter that the covenant used for bombing runs, and fired his missile launchers. The streaks of the missile clusters arced away from him, the trails ending about ten feet from him. They continued on and met their targets, some of them doubling back for another pass if they missed.

The cruisers were now down to 9 ships, and the fleet was at twelve. The _Nevada _and _Coruscant were destroyed, _and the _Excalibur_ had taken heavy damage, but still moving. The assault cruiser took out four of the damn cruisers by itself, while the _Resilience _took two. He knew he took five out, but that last shot was far too close. He nearly took himself out. The covenant ships jumped out, and escaped after one more ship was destroyed. They had won. "Resilience to Raven Leader. Good work out there, but try and not to help the enemy next time!" He grumbled. "The fighter came out of nowhere and bit my shell! It's not my fault!" He heard a chuckle on the other side. He flew to the landing bay on the right side of the ship and waited for the sixth door to open. He had damaged the first two, so the eight left in this bay were being used to bring fighters back in. He even saw some Albatrosses and pelicans out there dog fighting. He landed with a hard thump as his hydraulics and servos and whatnot counteracted his rather hard landing on the deck. The doors closed, and the area was pressurized again. "Nice job out there Raven" he heard a flight deck officer say over com channel 3. He shook his head to clear the ache, but to no avail. He stopped and turned the armor off.

As he walked toward the briefing room, he was stopped by Dr. Halsey. "Where did that ship go?" She asked. "It's in some sort of pocket plane. I don't know how to get back there. I think it's made by whoever made the battle frame." She stood there, staring at him. "Why did it leave?" She asked. "It thought you guys were hostile. Since we're sending in transports to board it, the ship thought you guys were either trying to invade or track me. It covered me, and then left." She then asked how he got back. "I did the same thing it did, except for I didn't get any training in it, so, hehe, I shot through the bulkhead door and made an impression of myself in the wall." She then asked if the ship had an AI in it like he said it moved on its own. "Um…" he thought about it for a moment. The fact that they were going to strip that ship apart and the fact that they would have probably cut Ilana into pieces for study showed that he probably should lie. "There is no AI per se on board, but a defense grid built to only allow things that were built by these tinker people. It won't let anyone else near it. Good news is, I got the thing to at least somewhat ally with us, but it still doesn't want anyone else to come close. It seems to be unmanned." She noted the information in a recorder, and placed it in her pocket. "Alright. Thank you for telling me. The Major and the rest of the combat group are in debriefing. You should hurry up there." He saluted, she eyed him a bit, and he stopped and smiled, then ran toward the briefing room door. She continued on, and turned the corner. The special mission seemed over, for now.


	13. Big Brother

-1The fleet was suppose to rendezvous with the civilian fleet in order to escort the passengers on board to another colony. There, they would try and either make a new life for themselves or take some shuttle to another colony. Garrett was eager to get back to the transport fleet, as there was one person in the universe he hadn't seen in four years. That person was his little sister, Savara Gryphen. She had entered the UNSC a year after he did, to try and follow in his footsteps. He was basically her role model in being tough, and she was quite a tomboy, though she was quite striking in looks. Red long hair and a good body, but she never went with any guys or had any dates no matter who it was. Garrett even remembered trying to set her up with a friend of his when she was 18, and needless to say, she ended the first date halfway through. Unfortunately for her, though, was the problem of her following orders, hence the reason that Garrett reached lieutenant in a few years and she sat at corporal. From what he heard, she was stationed as a marine complement on the _Ulysses_, but it was hardly anywhere near combat, which is just the way he liked it. Being overprotective of his little sister was an understatement. He only wished she didn't have to see combat, but she already had on several occasions. She was trained as a sniper because, like him, she had very good eyes, and with the modifications to the active camouflage systems from the covenant, she now had that equipped in a backpack like form. Since she had been doing mostly recon and solo ops, strictly because no officer anywhere wanted a maverick in their squads, she was allowed to grow her hair at waist length. If it weren't for the fact that the UNSC needed every man and woman capable of fighting out here, she might have been court marshaled and thrown from service a long time ago.

Garrett walked to his quarters, dropped his gear on a chair, flopped down on his bed, and pressed a few buttons on a trideo system. "Enter access codes please." Garrett thumbed his activation codes for mail, and got a com opening waiting for him. He turned on the video screen. "Hey bro. Long time no see. I heard about what happened on Valeius. Is it true you got some new armor? That's so cool. Anyway, duty on board is a real drag. How bout you?" She asked. "I… I've had an interesting field duty so far, and I'd rather not talk about it. So, you're having a boring time huh? That's good." Savara pushed some hair over her left ear and grinned. "Even a million miles away, you still try to protect me. I'm not a little kid anymore, so stop worrying. It's not like I haven't fought and been in danger before. And what about you? You were stuck on that colony for a year without backup and a covenant blockade. If anyone should be worried, it's me." Garrett grumbled something. He knew she was right. "What was that grumpy? I didn't catch that. Were you saying you're defeated? Hmm?" She asked. "Yes… but at least you're on a civilian ship, so I don't have to watch your butt along with my own." She rolled her eyes. "I wish there was some action. In the past few days, I've had to only break up a few brawls on board, stop a thief from taking some ammo from a munitions locker, and help the techs fix a broken heating regulator. At least I won't be here for much longer." Garrett raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why? You screw around with a superior's temper again?" She cocked her head and smirked. "For YOUR information, I've been pretty good about not disobeying orders. As long as they accept my skills, I'm a good girl. What I meant was that, heehee, (taunt singing) 'I got transferred to the _Resilience_.' What do you think about that?" Garrett gawked. "You mean you're gonna be here? On board this ship?" She smiled. "You know, for an educated man bro, you repeat things at the oddest times."

Garrett thought for a moment. _My little sister is gonna be on this ship? Oh hell no. She's gonna cause so much trouble for me. Damn! Bad luck hates me so much, she brought friends! _"Uh… no. You're not going to be on this ship. You're going to be on another ship." She stared at him, a little annoyed. "I thought you'd be thrilled. Hell, I haven't seen you for god knows how long. And you said you were gonna say hello when you were on Capella Station. You didn't even try! You were in and out before I could find out which gateway you were in." Garrett rubbed his neck.

"No. This is a front line ship. For all I know, it could get wiped out of existence in a few days. The covenant are still hitting hard. You can't do this." She grumbled something he couldn't hear. "What was that soldier?" He said, a bit annoyed. "I said it's already done. Once the fleets meet each other, I get on a shuttle and head to that ship. Big G… quit trying to stop me. You just called me soldier a second ago. That is what I am. If you don't like it, tough. I'm here to do a job." She was serious now. "Find then. You want to be professional, we'll be professional. Under article 36, section C, paragraph twelve, I, as a Captain stationed on this ship, hold rank and commanding officer of the main marine forces aboard this ship. Therefore, you are under my command. As I have seen your duty file already, I have no choice but to either have the transfer rescinded or have you stationed as an MP trooper." She gawked. "You… you couldn't. There is a Major ranked Spartan on board, and he wouldn't…" She started. "That Major is my superior officer, and as he will probably trust me with protecting what family I have, will allow me to have control in this matter." She stared sadly. "Come on, Garrett. Don't do this. Please…" Garrett sat there, and sighed. "No, you can't. Hell, we barely made it through the last encounter. This fleet had 14 ships in it, and we were hit by 20 covenant battle cruisers. You have any idea how much firepower those things have? Jesus, they took out two ships before we could even launch our fighters." She looked kinda sad. "Please, I can still help. This is my job Garrett, and I need to do it. I didn't join the military to be pushed around by my brother. I joined to protect Earth, my home, and other's homes so that they didn't need to sacrifice their lives." What she said had merit to him. "Ugh… (sigh, and looks around the room a bit) fine." She cheered up. "Really? You won't screw around with the transfer? Promise?" She asked. "No, I won't screw around with the transfer. I promise. But hell, do you realize your going to be in the marine outfit under my command?" She pulled something out. "Not just any marine. I passed the tests. I'm an ODST now."

_SHE WAS A HELLJUMPER! _"OH HELL NO! NO WAY! NOW YOU'VE DONE IT! NOT A CHANCE IN HELL AM I ALLOWING YOU TO STEP FOOT ON THIS SHIP!" She frowned. "I've been one for the past year Big G. And you just said you wouldn't screw around with the transfer. You PROMISED! You have never broken a promise to me, ever." _SHIT! She threw the promise thing at me! I can't break that streak now! _"Damn…" He cursed a bit more. "Don't worry. I can take care of myself against the covenant." He looked up. "That isn't what I'm worried about right now. I'm worried about you making my command hell." She smiled. "I won't. This I promise." _Same thing with her. _"Fine. Whatever…" Garrett played with a pen. "Alright then. I'll see you in a few… that's odd… there's a slip opening nearby the fleet. Have you guys gotten here already?" She asked. "No. We're still in transit… Oh hell! Savara, the covenant…" And the on the other side, the transmission glitches, as the room around Savara, rocked. "We're under attack! I'll talk later! Bye!" She switched the trideo off.

Garrett raced to the bridge as fast as his legs could carry him. The Major was nearby, and as he was talking to Dr. Halsey in the hallway, saw Garrett shoot by. He didn't know what was happening, but he was yelling "Out of the way! I need to get to the bridge!" Marines pressed against the walls as he bolted through the hallways. The major followed, wanting to find out what was going on. Garrett eventually made it to the bridge. "Captain! We need to move quicker! We have to get to the transport fleet! Their under attack!" The captain and everyone else were already at battle stations. "I'm well aware of the matter captain. Helm! Fix way fold by one five nine! Engineering control, boost power as high as you can get it! Full speed! Marius! Get all hands ready for combat!" She yelled orders to different people, including the ship's AI. She swore under her breath. "We aren't gonna make it in time." Garrett backed off from the bustle of people moving around. "Auron, can we…" and was answered with a no. "We are in a hyperspace jump. To open a slip gate here would be ill advised." Garrett cursed, and a big green attached to a Spartan hand descended on his shoulder. "Let's get to the drop bays. With any luck, they might try and crash land on Valeius and keep the covenant away. In that case, we can bring them back." Garrett thought about that for a moment. "Wouldn't the covenant then just glass the planet?" He asked. "No. If they don't have the information we have, then for all they know the people on those ships might have forerunner technology. Why destroy when they can capture?" Garrett agreed, and they ran toward the hangar bays, right past Dr. Halsey who was still trying to get to the bridge while following them. If they hurried, they could save those people, and the last family Garrett had.


	14. Chicken Run

-1The Resilience and the rest of the fleet got to the escort point to find destruction everywhere. Ships torn apart by plasma fire, bodies strewn about like rag dolls, and a few shipwrecks on fire. "Any sign of survivors?" The captain asked. "None as of yet ma'am. There's so much interference from engine cores and EM signatures, I can't tell what's a life pod and what isn't." The captain tapped her finger on the arm rest of her chair. The new ships of the line were now having seats for everyone on board the bridge, so that if heavy fighting came up, you wouldn't always be trying to keep your balance. So far, the seat the captain was sitting in was too cushy, too laid back, and absolutely no buttons on it. She felt like all she could do was belch orders and sit there. "Hang on ma'am. I've got a rescue beacon on three six zero. It's planet side. I'm reading multiple dodge holes in the surrounding area. Upper Hemisphere, third continent. The beacons seem to show the _Ulysses _ID coding for the life boats." She stopped her tapping. "Captain to bay 2. Send out the rescue teams. Bring our people home." Bay 2 acknowledged, and twelve pelicans, flanked by three squads of long sword and broad arrow fighters, shot toward the planet. A few covenant ships were detected on the ground, but other than that the place seemed unoccupied.

The rescue teams, followed by a walking tank seething with anger, entered the atmosphere and broke through. They eventually made their way toward the beacons, and finally landed. They dropped nine warthogs and three scorpions, and brought a few ATVs along as well. Ten Spartans, and over fifty marines and ODSTs had landed, with field medics and rescue specialists. Garrett and a few marines ran toward one of the beacons, the marines obviously in a warthog to keep up. They made it to the small bunker the people had made, and saw the carnage.

The defense barrier had been breached several times, and the marines that were holding the barrier were either killed or wounded. The civilians they were protecting were all cowering in a cave up in the rocks, surrounded by massive amounts of fallen trees. Garrett turned on his frontal search lights and walked into the cave, seeing everyone's eyes following him, and the marines following right behind, pulling what medical equipment they had on them and checking the troops, then calling in evac. "Tell me, did a Corporal Savara Gryphen make it off the Ulysses?" Garrett asked one of the marines with a plasma score on his leg. "Ugh… shit… huh? Uh… (Panting) yah. She was in this defense team. Ouch… Ah…She was taken with the officers in the group. We finally pushed them back, but if you guys hadn't shown up, we probably wouldn't have lasted another attack." Garrett grabbed the soldier by the shoulders and pulled him close to the armored face. "Do you know where they are holding them? Do you?" The marine winced. "What? No! I don't know! Fuck… Medic!" He grappled his leg. Medics were just entering the scene when Garrett stomped out of the cave. The major had walked from a warthog right when he left the opening, and stopped him. "Where do you think your going?" He asked. Garrett pulled his arm away. "I'm going to go rescue my sister." The Spartan grabbed his arm again. "No your not. Not without a plan you aren't. You have a better chance of getting those people killed than saving them." Garrett turned, and stared down at the green armored figure. "I'M NOT LEAVING HER TO ROT IN SOME COVIE CELL!" His voice echoed through the area, and marines and civilians alike stared at him. "We'll get them back. The covenant are probably holding the lower ranks as bait to make the officers tell them security codes and tactical positions for the escort home. Don't worry. Remember, we never leave a man behind." Garrett stood there for a moment as the Spartan let go of his arm and walked toward the cave.

Night had hit, and two lone pelicans flew in low to the ground. They were to wait at the edge of the valley the _Ascended_ was in, wait for Captain Gryphen to swoop in and blow an entrance to the docking bays, and rush in, while he provided cover fire. The two teams would infiltrate and rescue whoever they could. Garrett sat clamped to the side of a cliff nearby, his armor latched onto jutting rocks with cables, anti-grav systems and lock on clamps on the body. He held a long range laser rifle aimed at the ship. It would be the easiest thing in the world to take the thing down with a few shots, but if he did anything, the survivors on board would die. He watched the flying banshees and seraphs moving around, watching every patrol route and marking the paths they took. He memorized every transfer of infantry dropped from the grav lift to the ground, and then a squad would move up the lift inside. "Alpha team, ready to roll when you are." "Bravo team, ready to rumble. Waiting for signal." Garrett watched a bit more closely. At the very moment one of the squadrons of banshees moved to the bay doors and they were deactivated, he shot, and the pulse flew true to what he was aiming at: The brute controller near the panels for the docking bay field. He flew toward the open entrance, firing anti-personnel grenades along the way toward the opening. He landed, skidding a few meters while opening fire on anything that was alive. The pelicans swooped in, then landed softly on the deck and dropped their payload. The marines and Spartans shot out faster than lightning, running for cover and taking what turrets Garrett hadn't blown to hell yet. Once the main area was secured, they moved on towards where Cortana and Auron said the holding cells were.

They soon got to the door, but the main locks were on. "I don't know how to bypass these security systems Major. Just give me a bit of time and…" Cortana said, but a large shield smashed into the controls, the antennas in the armor perked up, and the doors opened. "Nanites successful" Auron said. Garrett walked in, followed by at the ready marines and Spartans. They saw a few brutes in the area, and took care of them just the same. They walked up to the control systems and disengaged the shields on the cells. Most of the troops ran to the cells with officers, but Garrett ran to find his sister. She wasn't in any of the cells. "She might be in another station area. We should keep moving" the major said. "Wait, are you guys trying to find Corporal Gryphen?" A marine was helped from a cell. "Yes. Where is she?" Garrett asked. "She was taken to interrogation. I doubt she'll come back alive. All the people they take to interrogation don't come back." Garrett ordered Auron to give him a map. He boosted out of the room, followed by yelling from the marines to stay. He shot down the hallway, broke through a wall and smashed a hunter and two brutes straight into another wall, then pushed his way into the interrogation room. Two brutes turned, one gold, another in greenish armor. Apparently that was the warden. Both were shocked, but not for long. He pulled an auto cannon and fired, cutting both of them in two. Behind them, raised about five feet from the ground, was Savara, crucified on a metal stake.

Two years before Valeius, recon mission red dawn. Squad Echo 13, observing heavy fortress prison camp. Garrett's Captain was speaking to him 

_"Take good look gentlemen. The covenant is trying their best to learn everything they can about us, the same as we do to them. The fact that they stole information about our religions proves this point. Unfortunately for us, they use crucifixion as a way of torture just for the fun of it. If you see a man in that situation, or find yourself in it, don't hesitate. Put them out of their misery or bite down on the capsule in your cheek."_

Garrett walked slowly up to the cross, Auron engaging the controls to lower the metal piece down. She was a mess; blood covering her, her body seemed broken. He took her off the plates and set her down on the ground. No movement came from her. Garrett felt tears come to his eyes, seeing that her eyes were not opening. No breathing could be seen, though the way his eyes were starting to blur, it was already difficult. A lone Spartan stood at the door, guarding against anything that tried to do anything at that moment to Garrett or the poor victim, having a major's rank emblazed on his armor. "Hey…Bro…" was barely heard from her mouth. He looked straight at her face, in complete shock. "Her vitals are critical, but she is alive. I suggest immediate evac. Now" Auron sternly said. A marine came up to her naked body and wrapped an e-blanket around her, then held onto her as he got up and they both charged out. The prisoners were semi equipped to fight, those that could fight anyway. The others were carried or limped along as the marines and Spartans covered them as they went to the docking bay. As they neared the bay, the plasma fire began to increase heavily. Firepower was bristling through the air, as rifle rounds were traded for plasma rounds. Plasma grenades were stuck to boxes nearby, and fragmentation grenades were rolled towards doors. They finally made it to some cover in the hangar, barely keeping everyone they came in with alive. No casualties had arisen yet, but with the increase in firepower flying towards them, it wouldn't take long. "This is Rescue team. We have the POWs now come pick us up!" the major yelled over the com channels. "Negative Rescue team. We've been engaged and cannot move at this time. We can't get near the hangar. We have too much firepower coming our way. If you can hold out for a while, we might…" and the connection severed with static. Evac was gonna be a no show.

Garrett looked over at Savara, lying helpless by a wounded marine, as the slug match continued. He sprayed the area with the remaining rounds in the auto cannon and switched the carriage with another. "Echo Bravo 6 Niner Zulu, we have contact! Lots of contact! We can't…" "They're everywhere! We can't hold out much longer!" "They aren't coming for us, are they sir…" was heard from his unit frequency. He fired twelve rockets into a nearby fuel container, having the first three dent it a bit, and the last few connect with covenant moving around. The area blew in a fiery death hole, tearing most of the nearby covenant to pieces. Unfortunately, more were pouring in from every door. Two marines were hit, and both went down, one with burns to his right arm, the other had his left hand melted off. Things were looking bad, very bad indeed.

At that moment, a rumble tore through the ship, as some sort of energy weapon carved into the side. The fields on the area died, and what might have been some sort of transport flew in, landed on the pad, and opened fire with some energy weapons. The cargo doors on the back opened up, and nothing was inside. The covenant pulled back, away from the ship as it seemed to be covering the humans. "Garrett. Get everyone on board now. The transport should cover you" a familiar voice said. "What the…" and Garrett thought better of it. He recognized the voice. It was Ilana.


	15. The Great Escape

-1Garrett was in a pinch. Multiple targets entering multiple openings, loaded vehicles were coming online in the ship, and worst of all, his shields were starting to actually lower. They were only in the area for ten minutes before 13 of his shields were drained. "Initializing secondary shield buffers. Rerouting power from secondary generator. Sub-booster charges set" Auron whispered in the background of the fire fight. He didn't want to interrupt Garrett's train of thought. The transport was waiting there, dealing out damage to anything that came near it that wasn't human, and the marines were finally all aboard. Garrett ran toward the ramp to the transport, fuel rod fire blistering the ground he was at moments before. As he neared the ramp, a tank pulled right in front of him and fired. The shot flew true, landing where Garrett… used to be. He boosted into the air, landed on top of the thing, pulling the energy blades from the hip plate and struck, cutting the vehicle in two. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't his only problem.

Garrett turned to see the transport was taking heavy fire and the marines tried their best to stay away from the open back. "Ilana! Move the transport now!" Garrett yelled as he jumped behind a few crates, rolled, and threw two grenades towards a ghost and a few grunts. "But you're not inside! Um, that would be leaving you there! I, I can't do that!" Garrett swore as a fuel rod blast hit him in the right shoulder, and then returned fire. "Shields at 70. I will keep second layer on standby. Triple link field polarizing" Auron said in the background. _There is more firepower flying around in this room than when I took those three ships on_ Garrett thought. "Just do it! I'll cover and follow after!" Garrett yelled as he fired three missiles in rapid succession at two tanks and a banshee trying to lift off. Ilana hesitated, complied, and lifted the craft off. As it left the bay, Garrett boosted, shot, threw four grenades and launched five mines in a scatter behind him, and jumped. Auron pushed full force into the boosters and the mech shot toward the opening in the back right when the ramp started to close. Garrett reversed, shot emergency jets from the sides, flipped a 180, and brought the Anionic warhead launcher to bear on the ship behind him. The ramp was almost closed, and he squeezed off a shot, flying through the crack just as it locked in place. The warhead hit, and the blast rocked the little craft around.

Garrett had slammed into the back of the cargo bay in the ship, his armor clanging against the wall behind him. Oddly enough, he didn't even dent the material, probably from the same usage as his armor. He switched the launcher to a more conventional weapon in case of boarding, and walked towards the only door there. The major tried to follow, but a turret nearby locked on and held him at bay. "I'm sorry, b-but you can't follow him. You, you aren't allowed anywhere else inside" Ilana's voice was heard over his helmet speakers. "Who was that?" Cortana asked. "Beats the hell out of me, but I think we need some answers." The Spartan yelled at Garrett to stop, and Garrett had just turned off the armor and turned around when the question hit. "Who was that? I thought you said that ship wasn't inhabited and didn't have an AI?" He asked. "Well, to tell you the truth, she isn't exactly an AI. I honestly don't know what she is, but she's pretty close to a living breathing humanoid." Auron interrupted with the information that she was an organoid, in all essence the same thing as a replica of her creators, except for the fact that she had AI abilities. Garrett couldn't grasp the idea of her having the good sides of both worlds, but for the time being he had other things to worry about. "You kept vital information from us. That's very serious." Garrett stood there for a moment, registering what he just said. "Hey, it's not like it would have any major effect on us. You heard it yourself. There are factions that are willing to play around with stuff like this. If I didn't…" And he was cut off. "Captain Gryphen, what you did was conceal vital information about a potential ally, as well as perhaps cut negotiations between the UNSC and whoever is running that artifact. You have endangered many people's lives by doing that." The other marines were sitting around the bay, watching the entire thing. "Captain Gryphen, I am relieving you of any command you have until this reaches the proper authorities. Furthermore, you will have this craft take us to the Resilience immediately." Garrett was stunned. _He couldn't be serious_. He could have Ilana take the ship to the _Resilience _and drop off everyone, then take the transport back, but why take away his power in rank? "(sigh), understood. I am… relieved of rank." He took a seat nearby his sister, still unconscious.

The transport had docked with the _Resilience _and dropped off the marines inside, then got ready to leave. "Garrett. You won't be coming in the transport?" Ilana asked over the Nanites communications in his ear. "Huh? Uh… no I can't. I'm under guard until I get back to Earth. For all I know I might be court marshaled for what I did." Ilana sounded shocked after that. "But, but you did it to stop any opposing force in, in your government from trying to scavenge or attack me. Why would they do this to you? I, I don't understand how your people can, can be so heartless." Garrett sighed, and kicked a wall in his little cell down in the brig. "Don't know, and frankly, I know it sucks. But I have no choice. I withheld information that they "Needed" to know, and now… I pay a price. Shit… I should have thought this would happen…" He said. A small silence filled. "Why did you do that? Protect me?" Ilana asked. "Don't know. Morals I guess, or maybe chivalry. Beats the hell out of me. Defend the woman in distress, though from the looks of it, you were hardly in distress. I should make a note to myself to stop doing things that get me in the boiling pot by my higher ups." He lay down on the bed in the room, a guard moving by, wondering why he was talking to himself. "Thank you" Ilana said, as Garrett twisted his head and stared at the ceiling. "Your welcome. Man, they should really think about putting something flashy on the ceilings of these cells. Maybe a Trideo or something to watch." Ilana giggled a bit.

Garrett stood at attention, his uniform clean and pressed, and was escorted by two very large ODST MPs. He walked into the hallway with his hat, though from the looks of it, the thing might be taken away from him. His rank would probably be lowered to private, and he might be stationed on a crap ass ship for the rest of his live. Dr. Halsey walked up to him, the MPs falling back a bit, and saluted. "I would like to speak with this man privately. Leave." They turned and walked to the hallway door, and stayed outside. Dr Halsey turned Garrett. "What the hell do you think you were doing? That was vital information that I needed to know, and if you keep that information from me, I can't help you." She sounded quite angry. "Ma'am, with all due respect, you might have tried a boarding of the ship in an attempt to gain useful tech. That was what I was worried about. There was a potential factor that if anyone tried to be hostile and invade, Ilana might become hostile as well and fight back. We would lose…" and he was cut off. "How would you know what I'm thinking Captain? You're not the one who has to conceal just about everything from the other council members. Now that you've walked into this blunder, you might be executed." Garrett stared at her in disbelief. "Ma'am, I think you might have said that wrong. I might be lowered in rank or expelled from the UNSC, may probably be put in a military prison." She stood there, pushing up her glasses. "I meant exactly what I said Mr. Gryphen. You're being accused of treason. It's usually a capital offense, don't you agree?" She said sarcastically. "Now that you have this problem, for all I know, you might be handed to the others on a silver platter. Project SLEIPNIR is being investigated, and I can't do anything about it. Congratulations, Captain, you're going to probably see quite a bit more politics once this is over, and very little free time." Dr. Halsey walked back through the council doors, and the guards came back.

Garrett sat on a nearby bench. Dr. Halsey was doing everything in her power to stop them from doing this, but there wasn't much she could do. Ten minutes later, he was called in. "Captain Garrett S. Gryphen. Under article six of the military convergence act, you are hear by held in this court marshal to prove the accusations being held against you, and whether they are proven truthful in accountancies with events that have taken place. Let us begin."

Garrett was having a rough time. The questions asked of him he answered to the best of his abilities, but they were definitely being twisted around. He had been in the court marshal for quite awhile now, and it looked like it was going to end soon. The council left for a few minutes to reach a verdict, and at that moment, he received a com from Ilana. "What are you doing calling me in the middle of this?" He asked. "I've come to help you escape. I won't, I won't allow you to take this burden on yourself when, when you were just trying to do a good thing. I'm sending a transport down. It is locked onto your life signs. Please, get on. Leave this place. Your, your government wishes to harm you. There is no reason for you to be here anymore." Garrett looked around. No one was nearby, but he could be heard from bugs in the area. "I can't. I might be let go. The charges might be lowered because of the need for troops, and who knows, I might be allowed to just leave the service. I never did like being a grunt in the first place." He shifted a bit on his legs. He had been standing for god knows how long, and his watch was taken in case of any bugs that he had to stop recordings. "But, but that is all the more reason to come with me. It, I-it might be worse than that. I won't let you be hurt. I… just get on the transport when it comes." The link stopped, and the council members reentered. Dr. Halsey looked sad. _Oh shit _he thought. "Captain Gryphen, by the verdict we have come across, we have decided you are guilty of treason. Your actions are not of military conduct, and furthermore, you may have assisted the covenant. Therefore, you are to be executed." Garret stepped back a bit, almost being hit with the words. "You're executing him so you can see what makes that armor tick! That's why you're doing this. All the evidence tells us that he acted without thinking and did not give us information that would give us a large advantage over the covenant. He…" Dr. Halsey was silenced. "Enough! Dr. Halsey, do not speak out again until the sentencing is finished. Now, Captain Gryphen, you will be…" And a large explosion rocked the building. Garrett fell on his ass, as the guards shot in. Each grabbed a council member and ran, but before they went, he heard "Hold the captain in custody!" Garrett looked at two guards run up to him.

_Oh what the hell. I've got nothing to lose now…_ and he foot swept both. He engaged his armor, and bashed through a wall. "All units! Captain Gryphen has gone rogue! I repeat! Gryphen has gone rogue! Shoot on site!" He heard over all channels. He boosted around a corner of the building, saw five ODSTs sitting there with rifles ready, and pulled back. _These are my guys. The troops and friends I've known all this time. I can't kill them._ One of the men pulled a SPNKr 32 and fired a shot, easily dodged by the fifteen foot soldier. He switched ammo in a rifle he pulled, and fired. The black out rounds connected, and all five soldiers were hit with some incredible pain killers and anesthetics. Their bodies slumped to the floor, fast asleep. He jumped through the open front doors and saw the transport flying about, waiting for him to emerge. At that moment, a scorpion pulled around the corner and let a shell connect with the ship. The shields absorbed it, and it returned fire with an energy burst. The scorpion was melted to a puddle, but two warthogs became interested in the mech standing at the door. The characteristic _CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! _Of rail fire flew from the rear mounts as Garrett boosted out of the way. He jumped toward one of the hogs and grappled the front with his hands, and picked the entire vehicle up and used it to club the other nearby. Both flew toward a nearby bunker. He jumped again, landed on top of the council building, and started to take fire from no less than seven bunkers. Twin Arco helicopters hovered in, spewing death with four 60mm auto cannons. Nothing was making its way through his shields, however, except for an occasional scorpion shell which hit hard enough to knock him back, but not much else. The transport hovered over the roof, waiting for him to enter. "All squads! He's trying to escape! Hose that ship!" He heard as a squad of long swords flew in and unloaded whatever they had. The ship landed effortlessly, and he boarded, firing off a few more black out rounds and had the door close. The ship lifted off, and they were in orbit before he knew it. The _Nexus _floated majestically nearby, the transport flying towards an open door. Three cruisers nearby tried to intercept, but Ilana held them at bay with her own fire. They retreated to a safe distance. Once the transport was on board, the ship jumped out of the system. No tracking could follow them, and they slipped away without much problem.


	16. Guilt Trip

The Spartan felt a little guilty walking down the hallway. He was held by duty to uphold the military laws, and Gryphen had lied to his superiors. The fact that he withheld information about that ship changed everyone's view of him, except for the Spartans. They knew he was a good man, and already saw what he was willing to do to protect others. Marie seemed to also miss him being gone, though she didn't show it much. Spartans normally didn't get along well with everyone else, but for some reason both Gryphen and she got along well. The one thing Gryphen didn't understand were certain things Marie said sometimes, though the other Spartans certainly got the hint as to what she was asking of him. It appeared to John that maybe she had feelings for him, though with what was happening, he doubted Gryphen saw them. Now that he thought about it, Gryphen might have been interested in the AI/Organoid/Forerunner on board that ship. It certainly was a valid idea. The problem was keeping Marie in combat shape. Though she tried to hide it, she was showing sluggishness in training and exercises. Her accuracy with her rifle was lowering, and she seemed distracted at times. He'd have to talk to her about her situation later to remedy the problem.

"I've scanned all freqs, and I can't detect anything anywhere about the forerunner ship. Covenant certainly aren't talking about it, which also seems to be interesting. Chie… I mean major… are you alright?" Cortana asked. "What? Oh, yes. Fine." Cortana checked his vitals. The neurons in his brain slowed by a .02 pekicils and transfer of flux waves from one side of the brain to the other increased drastically, mostly in areas where dreaming occurred. "Thinking about what you did?" She asked quietly. "Did I do the right thing? We just lost a vital person to the defense against the covenant, we lost an ally, and the covenant have just regained their advantage over us. If I hadn't, he might have very well turned the power he had toward the wrong ends, and ignore orders and feed false information. It could have been deadly to others." She sighed, leaning against the wall as he sat reading a report on his small desk. It was a small room, but it was all his, and Cortana seemed to like it that way. "You did what you did. You can't change that. Hopefully, we can fix this and get him back. As for the council, I think they just gained one hell of an enemy. Dr. Halsey has officially left the council, so I think we're probably going to be in the dark for a bit before I can get the access codes to ONI net again. Their changing everything, and now keeping surveillance on her as well. This is one of the reasons I'm glad I'm not Cleo." Cleopatra happened to be the Smart AI used in the council, as well as answering questions from the press and keeping politics and information between civilians and the council. She didn't have the capabilities that Cortana had, and that suited her just fine. "Keep me updated. I'm gonna catch forty winks." He got up and laid down on his bed. She sat down on the chair he used to be in and stared as he closed his eyes. At that moment, she wished she could meet this Ilana that Gryphen had talked about, so that maybe she might get a similar body.

Rasha'jamee kneeled on the floor as the prophet floated in. His black armor faded in the light, trying desperately to keep it's owner as hidden as possible even in a full lit room. "What is it that you and the rest of this crew of your ship found that had me come here? I want this down quickly, as I'm needed elsewhere." Rasha'jamee apologized for the inconvenience and turned on a holo-screen. "I believe you will be interested in this high one. The humans have been quite busy with some new technology that they have found in a cache on the planet they call Valeius. The cache we tried to find. Now they seem to have an armor unmatched by anything we have, and capable of destroying fleets of our ships by itself. Furthermore, they have found a ship similar to make of the armor, and is also capable of similar feats." He showed recordings of the armor destroying tanks and the three ships on Arcturus, then had a video of it firing a barrage of missiles towards seraphs. The _Nexus _then came in, destroying a few covenant ships, and also protecting the mech. "That technology. I… I've… it can't be…" The prophet was shocked and stuttered. "Exalted one, is there something wrong?" Rasha'jamee asked. "It isn't possible! They couldn't have had this type of technology! Such effort they put in… we didn't destroy them all…" The elite raised his head a bit, looking at the prophet. "High one? Are you referring to the humans?" he asked. "What? No you fool! And don't ask such stupid questions you don't need to know the answer to! I want all the information you have about these given to me immediately." The elite acknowledged and bowed, then moved to grab all the data cubes. He handed all of them to the prophet, and without saying a word after, the prophet floated out a door. "I didn't know they had hidden technology on those planets. I thought we destroyed the last of those bases long ago. And now those humans have them…" He said to himself, floating down a hallway with guards in tow.

(I know this is a short chapter, but I have a crap load of stuff to do for a few days, and this was just to wrap up a few things. The major is still the good guy, and if everyone who has read the books knows, the Spartan questions what he does all the time to see if he made the right decision. Black out rounds: A shaped nanite round with a thin shell to contain the nanites within. Once the round hits its target, the out shell shatters, and does little actual damage to the target aside from creating a few cuts on the area, similar to glass cutting skin. The shell breaks down quickly, being used as an extra material to seal the wound once the nanites have entered. The nanites have built in packages of anesthetics and pain killers, as well as other drugs. They will head to appropriate areas of the body and hit critical areas that control motor functions and thought processing, usually nerve packets and the brain. Once subdued, the target usually falls asleep for quite awhile, usually between five and twelve hours. The nanites break down once they have fulfilled their use, and the parts degrade to be used as either minerals for the body to absorb so as to leave no trace of tech in the body, or excreted in bodily fluids or fecal matter.)


	17. Elves and Marines

The transport had just touched down when the _Nexus_ had jumped out of the system. Garrett didn't feel anything when the little ship placed itself on the floor oddly enough. The door opened and he walked out, unarmored. He made his way up to the bridge for the second time, and was greeted by a very cheerful Ilana. "I'm so happy that you came back! Now you don't have to worry about following those orders from your superiors! I…" She stopped when she saw how depressed he looked. "I… I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you unhappy. I-I'm just glad you came back. I mis… I-I mean the ship was empty without your life signs." She blushed slightly for a moment as she caught her mistake. He didn't seem to notice. "Huh? Oh yah. Good to be here too. Is… is there someplace I can take a nap and get a bite to eat? Everything that's happened has taken a lot out of me. And I also need to be able to monitor some communications around the UNSC."

Ilana's face looked a bit unhappy that he still connecting himself to his old life… what she thought was his old life and a new beginning now. "Um… yes. O-of course. I'll show you to some quarters. Y-you can, if you want, choose one that suites you." She had him follow her off the bridge to the crew quarters and the captain's quarters, which were obviously, unoccupied. "Hmm. I like this place. It seems… bigger than what I got on the Resilience. Which room is this?" He asked as he looked through each sub room in the place. "This is supposed to be the captain's quarters, and it seems since you had a rank of captain, this would be alright." She stood at the entrance to the huge place, watching Garrett move from room to room as he checked the place out. He rubbed his back somewhat, obviously pain. He checked even the ceiling, drawers on desks and a clothing chest, and checked a few terminals nearby to use.

"What is this?" He asked as he rapped a knuckle against a large box like opening in the wall. "That is the replication system. You should be able to create any food you might want, as well as anything else capable of fitting inside the opening." He poked at it for a few seconds, looking for a button. "How do you work the thing?" He asked, looking at her. "W-well, you ask for something that you would want to eat. Um, try asking for your favorite meal?" She said. "Uh, okay, I'd like a Ganymede Proschilitono Pasta, with Portobello mushrooms, buttered garlic bread, and a Pepsi." He was testing the damn thing to see if it would do what she said it would.

Sure enough, the meal came out, a white alfredo sauce covering the pasta with sun dried tomatoes and chicken and shrimp. There were other things in it too, but he couldn't name them. Everything else also came out. "How…?" He tried to ask, but she anticipated the next question. "I-I scanned data on multiple human colonies. Y-your people have quite an interesting history. They, they have a diverse culture and ways of expressing themselves. But the wars…" He turned his attention to the food sitting there, and pulled it out of the opening, and set it on the dining table nearby. "Better than an instant-chef dispenser in the mess." He sat down and started to eat, and talk to her at the same time, in between mouthfuls and swallowing, of course. "I keep wondering if that was the reason the covenant want to kill us off. Maybe it's because of us having such a bloody history and taking for granted what we had in the past. Now, we just try and survive. Man, this stuff tastes just like it did on Ganymede!" She smiled and sat down as well. "I-I've looked at the fantasy stories and novels that your people have made. Some of them have what they call 'elves' in them. Um, they look, they look similar to me." She brought her right hand up to her right pointy ear, touching a finger to it lightly. He stopped eating, and looked up at her. "I've been wondering about that. You have the ears, and we've written about them. I wonder if we've met your creators in the past." She slightly blushed when their eyes met, Sapphire to Emerald, and she averted her eyes. "I, I don't know. As I've said before, I don't have the data on my creators. B-but it might be that they made me in their image." Garrett looked at the ceiling for a second, lighting streaming down from multiple fixtures. He continued eating his meal.

"Well, from the stories I'VE read, elves were suppose to be beautiful creatures that lived a crap load longer than humans, though they didn't have the muscle that we did, though they excelled at archery. In some cases, some of the books were suppose to be romance between an elf and a human, or culture differences. Others were a fight between the two, or alliances against a greater evil." She looked back at him, a slight sparkle in her eye that he didn't notice as he inhaled the food. "Can I have another Pepsi?" He asked the replicator. The machine materialized another, and he gratefully chugged it. "Humans fell in love with elves?" She asked. "That was what I read, and you probably did too. Though it was usually shunned by both sides." She tried to hide a smile, but couldn't hold it back. He didn't notice yet again, too interested in finishing the garlic bread and Portabellas. A small silence had arisen for a minute, then Garrett finished his meal and put the plate in the opening again. "I hope this thing takes away the plate right?" He asked. She snapped back to her senses, somewhat daydreaming. "Uh, yes. Yes it does." The machine dematerialized the plate and utensils and cups, and Garrett pulled his hand quickly away, his eyes going wide. "Hey if the elves were real, does that mean orcs and the little guys, what were they, dwarves, were they real too? And dragons and trolls?" He asked. Ilana stifled a giggle. "I don't know, perhaps." He turned and walked by her, moving toward the bathroom. "Gee. I hope not. They were usually the bad guys. And they sure as hell were ugly." She laughed after he said that, and he reached the bathroom. He closed the door and looked around. Ilana waited nearby the door. "Um, where are the towels? And toilet paper?" He asked. "What? Oh, yes, the towels are not used. There are spatial cleaning systems for the bathroom. Nanites will do the job." She blushed at the thought of him being in there, taking a shower. "What? You mean to tell me the little machines are gonna crawl on my body to clean me? What happens if they try to eat or disassemble something that ISN'T suppose to have it happen?" He asked, a bit worried. "They won't. Please, trust me."

He looked at the shower again, and reached a decision. "Nope. No thank you. I would like a flushing toilet with water and a shower that pours semi-hot water. I need a towel and toilet paper. I NEED TP. No nanites crawling on my body." He looked around another second. "Does that replication thingy make clothes too?" He asked through the door. "Y-yes, it does. Do you need some?" She asked. "Yep. Combat fatigues would be good. 35% cotton, 35% polyester, 20% duramesh plastic and 10% Kevlar please. Matt Black, with HEAT control fiber weaved under. It ain't the normal fatigues marines wear, but I always wanted to keep the stuff spec ops had me wear. Damned comfortable if you ask me." She had the replicator make the clothing as told, and Garrett opened the door to receive them. "How about the shower and toilet?" He asked. "One second." The shower system altered itself to suit what she knew from the data base. "How the hell…" He started. "Molecular re-bonding control. It's a fairly simple advancement. I, I wonder why your people don't have it, I mean, since their a space faring race…" He looked at the toilet as well, which had also changed. He tested the flush, and it worked like he wanted it. "Good. I never thought I'd be grateful for having a flushing toilet." He had also gained a towel, white, from the replicator with his clothing. "Alright. I'm gonna take a shower, then get some sleep. Can you let me know if anything happens while I catch some Zs?" He asked. "Oh, yes, of course. Then I'll leave and wait on the bridge." He turned and closed the door. "Thanks. Goodnight." She turned and walked to the door, hearing the shower turn on, and took a glance back. "Goodnight, Garrett." And with that, she smiled and walked out of the room, heavily blushing. For the rest of the night, he slept peacefully without any problems, and as he slept, he was watched over by a pair of Sapphire eyes.


	18. Ancient History

Garrett suited up in the combat armor for infantry that was in the armory. The stuff was pretty bulky, but once it was activated, the armored panels became form fitting. He checked the rest of his gear. An XMC-90 Gauss rifle primarily used for sniping, a sub-machine cannon as a sidearm, ad vibro knife for close defense, and a few phase grenades that looked interesting. He also was carrying some pitch auto turrets to cover his back and provide some backup, plus a packed up mine replication system, which was permanent by the way because of being made by Ilana. He had picked up some unusual coms from a solar system named Togrus Prime. It was currently just a farming colony, with rich jungle areas and many rivers. There was also some interesting archeological digging happening there supervised by the UNSC and he intended to find out what. He knew he was rogue, and knew that they would kill him if they found out he was there, but what he also knew was few people knew that he could mask himself from detection.

Along with the equipment he brought to phase cloak himself and ignore IR, radar, motion sensing and molecular printing, he was also trained as an OSA, and Optional Sensory Agent, or Psionic. He was one of the lower class ones, not very capable in his abilities, and he didn't much train in those arts. He much more preferred the quick punch of a rifle than cryokinesis which you had to concentrate on to fire a shot off. Now that Auron had modified his body, he was on par with some of the best, and far ahead in ability, though he didn't have any training in the top tiers. Garrett dropped a relay beacon at his equipment stash he dropped earlier on the planet's surface, and he was getting ready to go too.

"So exactly what is in the complex below?" He asked both Auron and Ilana. "The complex is Zorago complex, a library for data print and file storage. It holds blue prints for military projects, and capable of making breakthroughs for researchers possible with the chaos computer inside" Auron said. "The, the digging team hasn't yet found the complex yet, but you might get a better chance, if you, find the entrance to the complex that is. I'll keep scanning the area, b-but I don't know how effective that will be. T-the complex was made with similar technology to this ship, you know" Ilana said next. "So, what, we like, find the place, download all the files, and then grab the super chaos computer thing and run?" Garrett asked. "That would be the most logical solution. I will activate the self destruct sequence once we have the items. You should also place teleportation markers on objects you believe should be moved as well. Ilana should be able to bring them up" Auron said. "T-that's right. Leave it to me. Good luck!" She said somewhat cheerfully. "Any tips on the tactics the troops down below are using at the moment Ilana? So I don't fall right in the middle of them." There was some silence. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't know much about full combat. I know aerospace combat, not ground. Please forgive me." He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Auron should be able to help me on that field then, right?" He asked. "Roger. We should get moving" Auron confirmed.

Garrett stepped into the airlock opening, engaged the armor, and had the locking systems close and depressurize. The outside doors opened and space was right in front of him. The planet Togrus Prime turned in front of him, and he jumped out to meet it. After ten minutes of boosting towards the planet, the atmosphere started heat up around him. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?" He asked. "All sensor breaking systems are on full, with holo screen systems showing you as a falling meteor. Once through the atmosphere, you should engage the cloaking systems." He acknowledged, felt the rumbling of the atmosphere ripping by him, the shield on his left arm poised in front of him as a defensive gesture, just to be on the safe side. The twin flux multi phased shields and Heat dampers were holding with little trouble, and all systems were showing green.

He finally broke through the atmosphere with a formidable rocking of his body, with a triple pod drop chute popping from his back to slow him down, then disconnecting after ten seconds and melting to ash. His boosters kicked in, the cloaking device was activated, and the anti-grav systems engaged, to lower the chances of anyone seeing the slight energy signature from the invisible soldier from the sky. He landed with a dull thump, recoil compensated with his legs, and surveyed his surroundings. The valley nearby seemed to be mostly swamp with three rivers flowing through it, and two large jungle forests on opposite ends. Large mountain blocked off about a quarter of the valley from other places, but the rest was just small hills. He had landed on one the hills to the south, with the mountains to his right and north. The base camp for the UNSC was right in the middle of the valley, protected on one side by a dense forest and the behind them a river. Auron immediately place waypoint beacons at key openings he saw in the defensive perimeter of the camp, along with waypoints at escape points in red, a few evac points in green in case the mission had to be scrubbed and multiple possible entrances to the complex they were looking for in blue. Apparently, from monitoring the communications from the base, the complex hadn't even been found yet. _Lady luck is on our side for the moment _he thought. He moved up the mountains, having Auron scanning for the entrance areas to the complex while he checked patrol routes of warthogs and other marine squads. ECM interference was heavy, but easily broken through with the frames' equipment.

Garrett shot a grappling repel launcher to the top of a large cliff, not wanting his energy signature to go higher than was necessary, though Auron told him it wasn't needed. "Better to be on the safe side for now. I don't want to tip my hand just yet, not without getting what we came for." He thought about what he was doing. He was basically becoming an artifact scavenger, though for a better purpose than money. It was revenge. Revenge against the factions that wanted his him to assume room temperature on a metal slab for dissection. If he could gather all the artifacts in the _Nexus_ and maybe even take over a base of operations, he might show that those bastards shouldn't have played around with him. If worst comes to worst, he could always destroy the stuff.

"I have found a viable opening" Auron said as a patrol group was 300 meters away and moving back to base. Garrett sat latched onto the mountain cliff, the frame off so that he could fit into small holes in the wall to check the blue waypoints for possible entrances. The gauss rifle was clicked in at a fair zoom, and watching the point man. He was still cloaked, though he was careful to stay still in case it did stop functioning. _I don't know enough about this stuff to expect it to work all the time, even if Ilana and Auron say so. I was trained not to always rely on the gear given to me._ He moved up the repelling rope, climbed the edge of the cliff and looked around. The vantage point was beautiful, overlooking the entire valley and the delta the three rivers connected into. Birds flew about and he could see a herd of some animals at the edge of the northern valley ridge. He turned, looked down the other side, and saw a small sponge opening in the ground. He could shimmy himself down and find out of the spot was indeed an entrance.

He unlatched the repelling equipment from himself, noting that the rope would catch on too many jagged rocks along the way. He climbed into the opening, and put his feet into the sponge holes on the side. Some of them were quite fragile, and broke under his weight. He regained balance as he kept a smaller repel attachment and gravity boots to hold on, with some grip gloves in case, though it certainly wasn't easy. He was suddenly called up by Ilana dust from up above fell on his goggled face. "Garrett? I think we might have a problem." He spit down, trying to get the dirt from his mouth and wiped away some of it from his goggles. "What sort of problem?" He looked up. "There is a number of UNSC capital ships moving into orbit. They seem to be sending down troop transports. I, I've scanned the ships and, well, their holding what you called Spartans." His eyes widened. _The major was here probably._ "How many ships?" He pushed his foot down on another hole, having it crumble under, and he regained his foot hold on the previous hole. "Um, well, there are over 20 Pelican transports, and four of them are carrying the Spartans. What should I do?"

Garrett stood there for a moment. "They can't detect us?" He asked. "No. They can't. B-but they might try and search the mountains your in. They have, they have climbing gear. Should I stop them?" She asked. "No. Don't do anything. Just get ready for the teleporting of whatever we find. Once we have what we grab, lets get the hell out of dodge. The Spartans can be delt with another day." He did mean that. He didn't hold anything against the major for turning him in, but he was kinda pissed off about the fact that he saw Garrett as a hot headed fool at that time. He knew what he was doing, and the major could have ignored it and let it go, as things didn't go badly at all. He nearly cost Garrett's life, and he now knew that Spartans were always upholding military rule. He had to be wary around them if he ever was allowed back.

He found a foothold below him, and continued down. He reached halfway, when the hold he had slipped as sand cascaded down from his hand holds and he fell. He dropped twenty feet, and with the cushioning in his armor, didn't hurt anything aside from a few bruises and cuts. "Yep, that was a fond memory relived" he said to himself, remembering how he got the battle frame in the first place. He rubbed his back, wincing as the sore muscles ached. No matter how much sleep he got, his back seemed to hurt. He didn't seem to realize it was because of all the hard work he had put in.

He clicked on the goggles flashlights and looked around. The area seemed to be an enclosed cave, with a fairly hard ground with lots of sand covering it. He looked behind him to find a few skeletons of small animals, probably falling in by misstep, and a door. He walked up to it and checked for any access panels. "Auron can you activate this thing?" He asked. "Negative. All power in area is offline. You will have to use the direct approach." He sighed, looked around for any symbols or manual override, then took his pack off. He pulled a C20 packet from the bag and was gonna rub it into the seam between the doors, but couldn't find it. "Molecular re-bonding… Ilana, is that bonding used on doors too?" He asked. "Um, yes, on fortified doors at least. Why?" He pulled three more packets from his bag. "Never mind. Don't worry." He placed the C20 on each corner of the door, moved back to a large boulder in the cave, pulled two stolen jackal shields out and placed them on each wrist, then activated the personal shield that was similar to the MJOLNIR Mark VI. He ducked and covered as best he could and hit the detonator. The explosion hit hard, rocking the boulder so hard he had to push against it to keep it from rolling. One of the jackal's shields went out, and the energy shield lowered to 30%, but other than that he was fine. He peeked up over the boulder to find the door still there. "Crap! How do I get through it? The explosives didn't make a dent!" He walked up to the door and placed a gloved hand lightly against the armor. It wasn't even warm, which normally happened. He sat down and pulled out a chocolate bar and munched on it. "If this thing ignores heat, resists explosives, and probably has no power working it, how the hell can I open it?" He asked himself. At that moment he had an idea. The plastique used in the C20 was volatile with citric acid, which there was plenty of in the Pepsi he brought along with his water. If he could thin the Pepsi out enough to keep it fizzy with the water, and use it on the C20, it would act as an acid against the door. Hopefully it would work before someone reaches the hole. Everyone and their mother had to hear or see the explosion rip from the opening up above him.

"Major, I'm detecting a small explosion in the mountains. I don't know if it was blasting from the techs or not, but we might want to check it out" Cortana said. The major turned and looked at the mountains, staring for anything that could have been visible. He motioned for three other Spartans, one of them Marie, to follow. At that moment, a navy captain walked up. "Where are you going? We need help with unpacking the pelicans." The major turned around. "The was and explosion detected in the mountains. We were going to check it out." The captain looked up at the big cliffs in the distance. "Naw, probably core samples were being taken by the record crew. They are coming down from there." The major shrugged, and the captain called up the recon team. "Was that you guys blowing the crap out of the mountain side?" He asked. "Yes sir, we did detonate some explosive. Pretty big blast if you ask me. I guess it's the hollow sponge like rock that echoes it. Sorry to scare you navy scanks." The captain grumbled something about civilian recon crews, and turned back to the pelican. The Major followed, and the other three Spartans helped move new equipment out. "We'll check it out once we finish setting up the new equipment for the science staff."

Garrett poured the watered down pepsi on the hotdog sized pieces of C20 he slapped onto the door in a square shape, connecting each part to allow a small hole for him to climb through. The C20 bubbled away, melting into the armor. The problem was, he used almost all of the remaining packets he had. He only had two left, and he might need them for getting through other doors. He finally burned his way through the opening after an hour, and waited another twenty minutes until the opening could be moved through. He squeezed his way through enough so that he could turn around and grab his gear, and then slid it through after him. He turned around to see something scuttle on along the ground and disappear around the corner. A squeaking sound followed. "I hate rats" he whispered. He walked forward through the hallway to find two more doors at a T-intersection. Both were non-operable. He looked around for any place he could squeeze through a break in the door. He saw a flat grate like object in the wall high above. Garrett thought it could be a ventilation system. "Auron, can you give me a map layout through by goggles?" He asked. A map layout appeared as a HUD display, showing where he was in the complex. "Alright. This is a ventilation system. And it leads to the power stations! Even better." He grabbed the grate and tried to move it, but it wouldn't budge. He hit it a couple of times with the butt of his rifle, but no effect. He pulled out a small laser torch, not very powerful in terms of cutting through bulkhead doors, but strong enough to cut thin metal. He spent another ten minutes cutting away the grate, and moved through, towards the power stations.

He kicked at another grate, this one old and bent out a bit on one corner, and it eventually broke away. He moved out and fell on the other side, already expecting it as he rolled. He turned to his left to find a long ramp leading to a large terminal and power system, with a large core in the middle. He walked up to it, found the control panels, and placed a nifty power gizmo on the panel given by Ilana. The panels woke up with a greenish glow, and he activated the power grid. The lights flickered to life, and the core in front of him started to hum to life. "Alright. Now we're in business." Garrett walked to a bulkhead door, and the blockade metal opened for him. He moved from room to room, inspecting things, mostly junk that couldn't be used or things he could easily identify, so that would mean the camp wouldn't care about it. He came to an armory, with weapons and armor in carriages as well as vehicles. The place was huge, and definitely required a transport beacon. He placed it in the middle, the little thing blinked to life, scanned everything in the room, and the items disappeared soon after. He picked it up, and moved to the next room.

"Holy shit." He walked into a semi-dark room, completely covered in cryo tubes… or what he thought were cryo tubes. Humanoid beings were inside most of them, a few empty. "Where are we?" Garrett asked. "Genesis room, experimental archive of alien species." Garrett whistled, walking down a row of pods, looking into each one of them. He saw a human woman, with brown hair and pink skin, and then he saw next to her an African American man that wasn't very tall. He continued down the line, seeing a grunt, a marine, an elite, some tentacle alien he didn't know the name of, and multiple other beings. "All species in the room have no life signs. They are dead. We are fortunate to have reached the area before cleaning." Garrett paused for a moment. "What do you mean cleaning?" His answer came quickly with the bodies in the pods starting to dissolve as nanites crawled along the bodies and disassembled the molecules. "Holy crap!" He yelled, backing away from the pods. "Do not worry. None of the pods are open or damaged. There is one, however, that does not belong."


	19. The Doctor Is In

Garrett eyed the cybernetics on his arm, then asked where it was. "Turn to your right." He turned, as saw an odd looking pod angled at a 25 degrees. There seemed to be clamps on top of it, with writing… in something that resembled English. "Dr., I think, Ma, ya, Tir. Wait, Dr. Maya Tir. Huh?" The pod activated. Garrett freaked and jumped back. The clamps disengaged and the pod re-angled itself to a vertical position, then opened the pod door. A greenish fluid flooded out of the pod and he stepped back some more. He looked up, and inside was a naked woman, about the same age or similar to Ilana in look, with Raven hair down to her waist and all matted. The same ears were prominent, and pleasantly voluptuous. He didn't care. He was hoping that there weren't anymore pods opening, and he watched his sides. "Auron, I hope this isn't for holding like, prison inmates or something." He checked the fluid on the ground with his boot, saw that it wouldn't burn away the sole, and moved closer.

As said before, the woman, Garrett thought her name was Maya, had the similar long hair as Ilana, only Black. She seemed to stand at about 5 feet six, and similar body structure to Ilana's. The difference was the face and hips, with a slightly more pointed chin as extra. He kept his rifle trained on the outside area, watching the shadows with the flashlights. "Hey, if she's a doctor, does that mean she, I don't know, can help with the Battle Frame and stuff?" He asked. "Checking data log… she has knowledge of the design of the _Nexus_" Auron said. "Well, that helps Ilana, but what about me? I wanted to know if she knows anything about the Battle Frame?" He said annoyed. "You should ask her yourself. She is awakening." The woman's eyes fluttered a bit, opened slowly, closed her eyes again from the light, and opened them again. She tried to walk forward, but her legs collapsed from under her, and she fell towards Garrett. He shot his arms out to catch her, and then laid her on the floor. She was shivering, probably from Cryo stasis nerve shock. He pulled his pack out, grabbed an advanced medical kit he brought, pulled out a nerve stim, and pushed the needle into her neck. The fluid entered, and the shivering stopped. He then pulled a vita patch out, slapped it to her shoulder, and then pulled a canteen of water. She feebly moved her hand out to grab at the canteen, and he had to push her hand away and put the thing to her mouth. She drank the entire contents, the first few sips she spit out on the floor, with some of the green fluid.

Garrett pulled a small camp towel and tried to clean her off, then pulled an extra package he brought. The package had extra clothes in it, for the reason that Garrett knew if he moved through unknown territory, he would most like find something that wanted to tear at the clothes he was wearing. The sponge like hole he came down in also had sharp jagged edges as well. "Hey, you alright?" He asked. She still was blinking furiously, and she was trying to flail her arms about with little success. He knew what she was doing. Long exposure from Cryo hibernation, for a year or more, made motor functions slow down considerably and nerve endings go quite numb. It was the equivalent to sleeping on your arm, only all over your body. She tried to get up, and he helped her as best he could. "Bal Agi, Tor Aszahigo. To Dagaha." He tilted his head to the right, trying his best to figure out if she was annoyed at him, telling him to back off, or thanking him. "Um… I don't know your language. Shit… Auron, can you translate?" Auron acknowledged, but before he could do it, she talked again. "You… speak… English… your… human." He became shocked. "I didn't know, humans were, space faring yet. How long, have I, been in, hibernation?" She asked slowly, gulping in air. "I don't know. I was hoping you could give me some answers." She stood there, naked, and looked at the clothes, then toward an adjacent room. "Can you take, me to that, room please? I need to get, cleaned up." He helped her toward the room, her slipping somewhat as she still didn't have much use of her body. It was slow, and they eventually made it. He placed her down on a metal bench as she told him, and a machine moved right up to her. It scanned her with some sort of eye, and when it finished, which took about half and hour, she could move. "Note to self, which I'll probably forget anyway, get UNSC to make something like that." She stood up like anyone else, walked over to a shower system, and closed the door. He stood there, waiting, checking his back for anything that might have opened up as well. She came out cleaned, and moved to a replication opening, got some clothing to what style he had no idea, and got dressed. She seemed to be wearing some sort of form fitting cat suit, VERY form fitting. She also wore a long, what looked like patchwork lab coat, and high heeled boots that looked like a mixture between something from a fashion catalog and combat boots. She put some nail polish on at a machine, and had some makeup put on, stuff he thought was makeup anyway. "Uh, is that really necessary right now? I need to ask you a few questions." She turned, finished and accepting of her look, and walked up to him. "No, I need to ask you a few questions, and your going to answer them." He eyed her a bit, thinking her cocky, and ignored what she said. "I need to know who you are first." She smirked. "Did you read the side of the pod? It is my name. Maya Tir, Dr. Maya Tir. Goraha complex experimentation, fleet design and head mistress of fortress creation." He scratched his head. "Goraha… that was… that was where the _Nexus_ was made right? Is this Goraha complex?" She looked at him quizzically. "No. This is Zorago station. This is an archive storage. Now who are you?" She asked. "Captain Garrett Gryphen, First Unit of Project SLEIPNIR, attached to the United Nations Space Corp and SPARTAN II program, Earth, or I was. I'm human." He put his hand out for her to shake, and she looked at him oddly. "A custom on Earth. Sort of a well met gesture." She looked down at his hand, put her own hand out, and said "well met then." He took her hand and shook it. She stared at him, and then his hand shaking hers, and relaxed, figuring out what he did.

"So why were you here in that pod?" Garrett asked. "There was a disaster that happened. I was put in hibernation until it was under control, so as not to have life support fail and kill me. I'm one of the greatest minds known here you know." He was starting to realize she had somewhat of an ego problem. "So why are you here? Why are you in this station? How long has it been since I was awake?" She asked. "Um, broke through a door, looking for technology to hide from factions on Earth, and I don't know. Forerunners haven't been around ever since we started to figure out what you guys are. We find artifacts in ruins and stuff, but that's it." He said. She became shocked. "What? Artifacts?… it must have been the disaster. Rana Sarishu!" She seemed to swear. "What did you mean by 'you were' with the humans?" She asked, taking a seat. "I… it's a long story. Look, I'd love to talk all day, but I have to transport the rest of the stuff inside here to the _Nexus_." "You said _Nexus_. You don't mean the ship made at Goraha complex?" He confirmed it. "Why? Something odd with that?" She stood up and walked by him. "That ship wouldn't have allowed you on board. It goes against the evolution directive." He laughed. "What is so funny?" He turned around. "I heard that from Ilana and Auron. I was already detected as an ally when I went near it, but she won't let anyone else on board that isn't someone like you." "That is correct. After all, I designed it and her." He got stumped after that. "So, what, you made Ilana?" She laughed. "She is in all honesty, my daughter in a way."

She looked him over. "Where did you get that cybernetics?" She said quietly. "Azaraha complex… what the hell am I saying, I got it on Valeius after chasing some covenant into one of your abandoned bases! And the damned thing thought I was the pilot!" She continued out of the room, and he followed. "That thing was only a myth. Supposedly, it was a battle frame armor made for anti-fleet warfare in the event that the allied races fighting against us would stop attacking and consider peace." He stopped. "So do you know anything about it? How to get it off of me or what it can do?" She laughed. "You're the pilot and you don't know what it is capable of doing?" He looked annoyed. "I was an involuntary pilot, thank you very much. Now, do you know anything about it or not?" She stopped and turned around. "I don't know anything about it, other than it is a called a battle frame, and made in Azaraha complex. I didn't design it, so other than knowing about the experiment, I know nothing. If it is about the Nexus, I know everything about it." He sighed.

"I need you to take me to the Nexus now." He got a little annoyed. "Now look, I'm not your slave or assistant or what not. I'm a soldier from another race that is getting kinda pissed at you right now for the ego problem. Why should I help you get up there?" He pointed. She looked somewhat sad at that moment. "I would like to see how she turned out." Garrett relaxed a bit, feeling a bit guilty. "Sorry. Can you wait? I need to make sure the UNSC doesn't get anything from this place." Maya looked surprised. "Your part of their race and yet your trying to hamper them from taking our technology? I'm impressed that humans could be so cold hearted, even if I'm glad about it." He tried to object, but she continued. "Your probably keeping the technology from those factions you talked about. No doubt political I'm guessing. They probably backstabbed you, and now your getting revenge. You found that technology at Azaraha complex, and now that you have it, they want to use you as their puppet. You wouldn't work with their strings, so they wanted to get rid of you. Am I close?" He dropped onto his rump on the floor. "How? That was…" She straightened her coat. "I am a genius, or so I'm told." He got back up and followed her as she kept moving. "The fact is, since your doing something to keep the evolution directive working, and in effect allowed to be on that ship, I guess I should assist you. Follow me."

They both moved from room to room, checking area after area for information they could download or transport to the ship. Once they had cleared the entire complex, which was assisted by various machines in finding the items wanted, the machines were transported up and then Garrett and Maya were left. "Alright, now we need to get out of here." Maya eyed him. "Why not use the teleportation system on the _Nexus_?" She asked. "I was told that the system didn't work very well on organic stuff, so the we have to get out of here and wait for a transport." She followed him to the door he made a hole in. "That wasn't a door. That was a wall." He made a funny face. "Oops. No wonder I didn't find a lock panel." She chuckled a bit, and he helped her through the opening, then followed suit. "Can you carry me? I'm not very good at climbing. I wasn't the best when I was a child. 200 years, and you still don't get your balance correct." He stared at her. "200... How old… nope, I don't ask that question from women… bad manners…" he grabbed his climbing gear and hoisted his repelling equipment onto his chest. "For your information, I actually lost count somewhere around 4,000. Sorry to disappoint you on the exact number." He shook his head, remembering he was only in his twenties. "Man, I hope I look that good when I make even sixty" he chuckled. He tested a grappling hook and cable he shot to the top, and felt a hand tap his shoulder. "How do I get up?" She asked with a smile. "Oh no…"

five minutes later

Garrett pulled himself up with the help of an auto winch above, and had an attached 110 pound Doctor on his back, roping her hands around his shoulders and neck. "Watch the buckles please" He winced as her forearm pressed against a buckle on his harness, pressing it into his skin. "Sorry." He got to the top, and she clambered over him, sitting on his face for a second, which he could and couldn't complain about, then stepped on his shoulder with a heel. He yelped, and she jumped to normal ground, he pulling himself up and out. "Alright, call Ilana. I'm sure she'll be eager to see me." He shook his head free of dirt, then tapped his ear. "Hey Ilana, I need a transport down here. I found someone that you need to take aboard. You might find this interesting." She acknowledged, and they waited. Suddenly, a shot flew by as sub machine gun fire hosed nearby the Doctor. She cowered, and he grabbed her and ran, dived behind a boulder, and pulled his own guns out. "Rogue Garrett Gryphen, you are to surrender immediately. Come out at once."

He answered with a grenade thrown out, and covered Maya's head. The explosion rocked the ground, and gun fire was heard. He also heard the sound of shields being hit by the shrapnel. Damn Spartans. He peeked out, and saw four of them, one being the major, the others being unknowns. "Fat chance! You sold me out you bastard!" He threw another grenade and heard the explosion. "You risked more than just military lives when you didn't give that information. You risked the survival of all humanity. Your court martial would have just brought you to your senses." Garrett got pissed at that. "Brought me to my senses? They were going to execute me! All so they could cut me into little pieces for research! Fuck it! I like my body staying in one piece thank you very much!" He concentrated for a second, and moved his hand out in a slapping motion, and fired a cryokinesis attack. It hit one of the Spartans that was hailing rifle fire on him from an MA6B. The Spartans shields flickered, and died, followed by him falling back and pulling himself away to cover. He saw out of the corner of his eye another Spartan aiming at him with a sniper rifle, but didn't fire.

What the hell was happening? He thought to himself. "Wait! Let the hostage go! Come out and we'll talk! I didn't know about the execution! Hold your fire!" The rifle fire stopped and silence filled the air. "Hostage? I'm no hostage! Your firing at the mrp…" and a hand clamped down on her mouth. "Don't say anything! You'll definitely be used as a guinea pig if the council got its hands on you!" She stopped speaking under his hand. "You come here and we'll talk!" Garrett yelled. There was sound moving toward him, and he readied another grenade. The sound slowed, one pair of feet moving, and the major moved around the boulder slowly. His hands were up, no weapons in hand, and he lowered himself to a crouching position. "Now, let's talk."

For about ten minutes, Garrett explained the whole thing to the Spartan, who wasn't being told the whole story. He thought Garrett was being trained to better suit his new responsibilities and might spend some time in a brig for what he did, but didn't know he was to be executed. It was a ludicrous idea, one that the council thought would yield some new technology. "You men… you look like… the honor guard… reclaimers…" Maya said, staring at the major. He looked at her through his visor, showing no emotion out of his helmet. "Reclaimer? Do you know about the Halos?" He asked. "Yes." He looked at Garrett. "She was in a pod in the complex. She's a forerunner." Auron suddenly acknowledged the self destruct sequence, and the ground rumbled. "The transport is inbound. I suggest you get ready." Maya and the others stood up, and the major stood there, watching them. "Actually, we aren't called forerunners. The name we use for my people I doubt you could pronounce, so I guess we should just keep it the way it is." the major stopped Garrett by the arm as both walked by. "What just happened under us?" He asked. "The self destruct sequence was activated so that no other tech could be stolen, as per what she wanted. They have an evolution directive." The major cocked his head back a bit, caught off guard by that. "And why did you do that?" Garrett shook his arm free of the Spartan's hand. "Because if I didn't, the stuff falls into wrong hands. Very bad, like you've said before about leaving equipment behind. They have rules about their technology falling into the wrong hands, or in this, our hands. Kids playing with fire sort of thing." They got onto the transport, and Garrett turned. "Hey, are you gonna report this?" He asked. "Report what? The recon crew was taking core samples. The mountain side was unstable and it collapsed inside, and that was all that was found. Hey, if we need to get in touch with you, how can we Spartans do it?" He asked. Garrett sat there for a moment, wondering if he should tell him. "There's a com channel that phases through a BPT wave in sub space. Your Trans communications system should be able to hook up to it. Don't abuse this trust, major." Shots were heard nearby, and marines were seen in the distance. Garrett heard chatter on his nanite communications. "The Spartans are letting them get away! I knew they were in league! All units! The Spartans are to be contained! Everyone else, take down that transport!" Rocket fire erupted as firepower flew from all directions. Multiple extra Spartans dashed up the mountain side, clearly hiding in case Garrett was wanting a fight instead of talking. About thirty in all, ran toward the major, guns not in use. "Sir, I guess we have problems. We're considered hostiles!"

The major turned around and checked the area. Marines and warthogs were moving slowly up toward them, and fighters were popping into the air. Mortar fire was hitting pretty close, and rockets were flying out to meet the transport, doing nothing against the shields. "How many Spartans are here?" Garrett asked. "All of them. We don't really know how powerful that armor of yours is, so we came in full strength. Why?" Garrett took a glance around as the Spartans condensed around the boulders near the transport. "Shit… tell them we had you at gunpoint and couldn't open fire." The major thought for a second before ordering everyone to back away. Ilana tried to interrupt with not allowing them to have the frequency to get in touch with him, but Garrett stopped her. "Their on our side. Let em leave okay?" Ilana sighed over the frequency, and then agreed, only because it was him, which he thought was odd. The transport was loaded, and it lifted off, straight towards the Nexus. It landed, and the Carrier jumped out of the area.


	20. Egotistic Mothers and Stubborn Marines

The transport landed softly in one of the docking bays and the hatch opened on the left side. Garrett walked out, the gauss rifle slung over his shoulder and a data cube strapped to his right leg. Maya followed, taking in the look of the place as they walked to the bridge. Ilana was there to greet him, smiling as always it seemed. She stopped smiling when she saw who was behind him. "Hello Ilana. How have you been?" Maya asked with smile. "M-mother?" Ilana asked. "Yes, it's me. I read the reports on you in the past. The scientists weren't too happy with your progress in acting as the control AI here. I for one thought you were doing quite well." Ilana eyes started to tear. "Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that you didn't make her?" Garrett asked. "I did make her, in a sense, as I am her mother, biologically as well as through the cortex scanning systems and thought translation programs I designed. Those bastards on Gorraha complex were the ones who put the designs in motion. Fara gota zhima to…" She seemed to curse at the end.

"I get the feeling you didn't like those guys who put her here? And hang on a sec. I thought she was an organoid? Auron told me she was the computer on this ship." Maya sighed. "You humans obviously don't have them yet. An organoid can mean anything that is organic and can run objects similar to an AI, and the programs I made allowed people to do this, such as a pilot interfaced with the ships controls for better flight, or a gunner to hit its target as if he was the gun itself. It her case, Ilana is the _Nexus's_ AI, even though she is a forerunner. What you humans refer to as organoids are walking talking machines that are organic but were made by you. Not exactly enlightened." Garrett scratched his head for a sec. "Uh huh. Auron, next time I ask you a question about stuff you think I won't understand without details, give them to me please. I don't think I can take much more human bashing from her." Auron acknowledged. "So… that is kinda cool, being able to interface as the ship's AI I mean." Ilana smiled. "The reason that I hated those men for making this ship is that they abused her." Garrett became shocked. "Huh?! Those bastards!" Ilana looked depressed, averting her eyes from him. "If she didn't do something the way one of the scientists wanted, she was punished. I didn't mean sexually." Garrett sighed in relief, which Ilana seemed to notice and feel a little better. "Ilana, now that I'm on board, I need the science sector brought online and a room opened for me. I want secondary sensors and tertiary sensors offline in those areas. Furthermore, I need Sec bots placed at the entrances and key override codes for those areas as well" Maya told her.

Ilana acknowledged, and Garrett just stood there. "All the data that was downloaded is there mother. All production prints have been interfaced for the launch bays, all except one."

Maya cocked an eyebrow. "Which blue print didn't make it?" She asked. "The prints for the Battle Frame." Both women stared at Garrett. "Uh, Auron, can you give the blue prints to them to make them stop doing that look?" Auron denied the request. "Azraha technology was a top level experimentation base. The doctor, and for that matter anyone who is not from that complex, excluding you, is not allowed to have data from that area." Maya began to abject. "I have the highest clearance for all military installations. You can't keep it from me. Now hand it over. I need to see what our situation is, and if I have all the blueprints, it can broaden any plans we might have for stopping the humans and covenant from finding any other complexes." Auron again denied the request. "You do not have clearance from the shadow council." Maya frowned. "Fara togen tasho!" Garrett put his hands on his hips and cocked his head. "What do you mean 'we'? I'm the only human on board this ship remember?" Maya rolled her eyes. "Don't you understand? The fact that your trying to keep the evolution directive functional means that both of us are trying to do the same thing." Garrett crossed his arms over his chest. "Hang on. I'm trying to stop FACTIONS from getting this technology, not the entire human race. If I can give it to the right people, it would probably be used for the right things." Maya started to get annoyed. "Don't even think about it. If I even think your going to give my people's advancements to your inferior race, then…"

Garrett cut her off. "Inferior?! YOUR race was the one that got wiped out! We were the ones that found YOUR bases under rock and dust! WE didn't go extinct, you did! And anything that can keep us that way from the covenant is something that I intend to use!" Maya snorted. "Ugh, you barbarian! Your people couldn't understand one thing about our race's advancements, and you don't understand anything about why my people are gone!" She was yelling now, and so was Garrett. Ilana stood a little out of the way, watching both. "Now please, can we calm down? T-there is no need to yell. Please, please calm down." Ilana stepped between both. "Well we'll just see whose inferior!" Garrett still yelled, around Ilana no doubt. "Fine!" "Fine!" And Maya stormed from the bridge to some random place, probably the science sector. "Hmmph! That woman thinks she's so high and mighty! It was my 'inferior' ass that got her out of that crumbling library in the first place!" And with that, he stomped off the bridge, leaving Ilana alone, glancing at both doors they had walked through, sighing.

After one hour, Ilana decided that sensor scans where they were hiding the ship was starting to get boring. She decided to go and find her mother and see if she couldn't make her calm down and apologize for her actions. Garrett did, after all, save her from an abandoned base. Ilana walked out of the bridge and used a transporter to gain access to the science sector, where her mother's life signs were showing. She found her at a work station, reading through data on a portable pad, holographic screens floating in the air with other information. She was sitting down, with crossed legs and a cup of something greenish that had steam coming out. "Um… m-mother?" She asked. Maya looked up. "If your trying to make me forgive that brute, you have another thing coming" she said in a language that only Ilana and whoever else survived their race's destruction understood. "B-but they aren't that inferior. In, in fact they exceed us in some ways. Garrett is a psionic." Maya perked up at that. "What? How? That isn't possible! Our people could never achieve using our minds to manipulate the universe, why can his?" Ilana averted her gaze, a holographic screen springing to life. The screen showed Garrett's body structure, similar to that of Maya's and Ilana's, but since he was male, there were obvious differences, along with no extra muscles and cartilage in the ears. He also didn't have certain extra organs that they had, like and extra kidney near the stomach, or a third very small lung near the heart. What he did have was a far stronger bone structure, without the enhancements he was given, and two extra ribs, plus more muscles in the legs and arms, and a far stronger spinal column. "Here. His brain produces double the amounts of neurons and has 34% more nerve clusters. H-his frontal lobes allow for the abilities."

Maya studied the screen for a few seconds, silence hanging. "Our brains don't use that area for outside manipulation. We use that part of the brain for faster pattern differentiation and eye coordination. No wonder we are more advanced than the humans. They use that part for control of the outside, along with study and analysis of the world. No wonder they are so capable of modifying and refitting stolen technology. They aren't so inferior after all, just tenacious and war like." Ilana cleared her throat. "M-mother, isn't the war like part of them the reason they are standing a chance against the covenant? Our people… we…" Maya put her hand to Ilana's lips. "Shh. Don't say it. I know. We weren't that good in the military department… (sigh) fine. I'll will try to make up with him." Ilana smiled. "Thank you. I-I appreciate it." Maya started to walk to the door, then stopped. "You know, if you are that interested in him, you should just tell him how you feel." Ilana blushed heavily. "What?! Me? W-why? I don't know what you're talking about!" She stuttered out. "I know our people never liked interracial relationships, but our people aren't exactly around anymore are they? So whose to stop you?" Maya said quietly, a little bit of sadness in her voice. She started to walk out the door again, but was stopped by Ilana. "The (name not pronounceable in any human language) aren't all dead are they? Our race hasn't died off except for just me and you? There have to be more that survived." Maya pushed back some of her raven long hair, her pointed ears showing. "I don't know. Hopefully we can find out. That is another reason why I want to study this information. There might be some designs for some escape vessels, or secret colonies hidden away somewhere. Only time and study can tell." Maya walked away, on toward the beacon that showed where Garrett was. Ilana followed.

Garrett layed on his bed, fallen asleep to some very loud death metal. The signal from the door didn't reach him, and he kept slumbering. Ilana force coded the door opened, and Maya walked in. She saw him flopped on the bed, his arms and legs placed in a way that made him look like an Egyptian symbol. The headphones were blaring away, and Maya looked at Ilana. Ilana shrugged and stood there, and Maya turned back to take the headphones off. As she reached for the headphones, a hand shot out like lightning, grabbing her wrist. Garrett's eyes opened and stared angrily at her. He took the headphones off and got up. "What the hell are you doing in here?! Come to throw some more 'inferior' jokes at me? And how did you get in in the first… oh…" He saw Ilana standing at the door, slightly blushing. "Hehe… uh… m-my mother came to apologize." He rubbed his eyes glancing back and forth between them.

"Oookay…" He waited. "I… wish to apologize for my outburst a little while ago. Your people are not inferior to mine. In fact, they have many distinct advantages over us, though we still are more advanced in terms of a civilization. I did not mean to call you a barbarian. Please forgive me." She bowed her head a bit. Garrett sat there. "Apology… accepted?" He said. "Thank you." Garrett got up and stood somewhat at attention. "Ma'am, I also apologize for yelling and the improper course of slandering your people." _Stand there like a good soldier and do this. If she was able to, you sure as hell can._ "Apology accepted." He nodded. "Um… you find anything interesting in the files we got?" He asked. "Yes, actually. I found the creator of the frame you use, but nothing involving what he was working on. As for the frame itself, sensors on board this ship can't penetrate the armor, the jamming systems built in can actually override that of this ship, and Auron seems to be capable of ignoring any hacking that happens to try and get in." Garrett looked at the ceiling for a moment, before coming to his senses. "Wait a fucking minute! Did you try and hack into the armor?" He angrily said. "Sorry, I was trying to get those files from Auron, since he wouldn't give them to me. I don't like not knowing as much as possible. I didn't mean to do anything bad, just get those files." Garrett grumbled something incoherent. "Hey, I said I was sorry!" She yelled. "Yah yah yah. I heard ya the first time."

He rubbed his back a bit, wincing. "Problems?" Ilana asked. "Yah. My back hurts. Probably from the falls I seem to keep having every time I do something involving forerunners. Ouchie…" he yelped as he hit a tender spot. "Hey, Auron, can I take this thing off at all? It kinda scratches when I reach for my back." Auron was silent for a few seconds, and a few clamps undid on his arm cybernetics. The things suddenly started to absorb into his arm, like a liquid. "I will stay in the secondary storage systems of the ship until the cybernetics is registered as active again." Garrett acknowledged that, and Auron's voice disappeared. He cracked his back, hearing multiple cracking sounds down his spine. "Oh that felt good…" He sighed.

"I'm going to get back to the science lab. Oh, one more thing. Are your people born with psionic abilities?" Maya asked. "Hoy hoy hoy hoy?" he said, seemingly along the lines of "huh?" Maya got up. "I asked if your people were born with the psionic abilities or if you're trained in them." He stared at a wall for a second before looking back. "Both. And very few of us are born with psionics. Hasn't exactly worked it's away into the genetics of us humans fully. We have to train ourselves before we can actually use them. Why? Your people have them all over the place?" He asked. "No. Forerunners can't have them. Our brains don't seem to be structured the same way." Garrett's eyebrows raised for a second, then he ruffled his crew cut. "Well, now my people do have an edge don't they? What about the covenant?" He asked. "I believe the beings they call 'prophets' are the only ones that have them, and they are quite skilled as well. I was wondering if I could run some tests on a few skin samples and blood from you?" Maya asked. "uh… I… don't like needles. Please tell me you aren't going to use needles…" She smiled and walked over to the replicator. "Empty hypo please." An empty hypo spray materialized and she took it and placed it on his arm. It felt funny to him, like something sucked on his arm for a second before she pulled it away. She had samples of his skin in it, and a small vial of a red liquid inside. His arm itched where she placed the hypo and he scratched. "Alright. I think I'm going to run the tests with the autodocs and take a small nap myself after finishing in the science lab. I'm not up to my normal energy level after being in that stasis pod for so long." She nodded to Garrett, still scratching his arm, then left.

"D-does your back still hurt?" Ilana asked. "yah, but it felt good to crack it. That thing over there able to create any anti-ache cream?" He asked, still scratching his arm, while his other hand rubbed his back, looking somewhat like an ape at a zoo doing a dance. "Y-you can always inject a pain-killer into…" And he stopped her. "No. No injections. No needles. No hypos that itch like hell." He lied down on the bed on his stomach, rubbing his back and trying to stay straight. "T-then, um, I might assist you with pressure points, or maybe, what your people use… what was it… a message?" He twisted his head to look at her. "This doesn't involve me feeling extra pain does it? Cause I've had some really bad experiences with massuses and they always think it's a good thing to use their elbows." She shook her head. "What do I have to do?" He asked, still rubbing his back, slight strain in his voice. "Um, well, take off your shirt and lie still." He did as he was told, and she blushed behind him as he did so. He wasn't exactly built and muscular, but he did have a fair muscle tone to his body, being a marine and all. On his right shoulder blade, a blackish tattoo with red and gold etching in it for the words "Guardians" and a medieval footman in blue plate mail, sword shining, face plate for his helmet down. She placed her hands gently on his back, pressing at muscles and determining where the pain was. He winced as she moved her left hand to the small of his back, toward the right of his spine. She rubbed her thumb carefully in a circular motion, accessing the data stored in the ship for what to do. "Ouch, Ah… oooohhh, that feels kinda good…" He winced a bit then sighed. He heard another crack come from his spine, and his eyes widened. "Oh shit, did my back just give out?" He wiggled around a bit, testing his theory. No pain hit, and he could move around. "Perhaps one of your spinal discs did the same thing it did before?" Ilana asked. "Maybe. Hopefully it won't happen again, or I'm going to be afraid." She gently placed her hands back on him again, messaging muscles and tense areas. He started to almost melt under her hands, and started to get drowsy. "My back is on vacation…" He said groggily.

Ilana smiled, wondering about what Maya had told her. "Um… Garrett?" She said softly. She heard a small "humph?" come from him as his eyes were closed and his face lay facing the opposite side of where she was sitting. "Um… I was wondering about what we talked about a while ago, about the novels with elves and humans having a relationship." No answer came from him. "It seems that it was always the elves that kept the relationship from happening, and well, I, I was wondering, would it be possible if…" She stopped for a second, gathering her courage. "I wonder if you might feel anything for me? I, I think I might have feelings for you." again no answer. "Garrett?" She whispered, and moved closer to see if he was thinking or something else. His eyes were closed, his face somewhat pressed into the bed, and soft breathing was being heard. He was asleep. He didn't snore, though he did seem to be dreaming, his eyes moving around under his eyelids. Her smile widened a bit, Ilana looking somewhat content. She brushed the back of her hand against his face, his five o' clock shadow feeling ruff against her skin. He snapped awake almost immediately, Ilana jumping back as he sprang to life. "Just five more minutes Major! Five more minutes and I'll be at the drop bay! I haven't slept in 72..." He looked around the room. "Oh… I thought I was being thrown on a mission… just a nightmare…" He laid back down and was asleep as fast as his head hit the pillow again. She stared, surprised, at the soldier. _Sleep walking? Or maybe he really did wake up at my touch?_ She thought. "Sleep well, Garrett. I'll tell you another time." Ilana got up and walked to the door, a small smile on her face. "You don't have to worry about people making you go on those missions anymore. No one is going to use you again. I'll make sure of that." She left the room, the lights dimming out as dreams of battle and whatnot flowed through Garrett's head, and mischief and planning happening in Ilana's.


	21. Old Nemesis

Garrett woke up to a beeping noise, thought it was an alarm clock, and threw a shoe at where the offending sound seemed to come from. The shoe hit a button, and the door opened. Maya walked in, saw that he was awake, somewhat, and that he was rubbing his eyes. "Good morning Garrett." Garrett's right eye popped out from under his hands and stared at her with annoyance. "I don't know what's good about it. Need something?" He asked. "I think I found something we need to fix immediately. Your UNSC has found a concentration complex on one of their new fortress worlds, Reach II. The colony seems to be quite impressive, for a military installation of course." Garrett scratched the grit out of his eyes and stood up. "Why do we have to fix something? I thought our job at the moment was to keep as much shit from getting into the hands of the bad guys, not suddenly become mechanics. I didn't do so well in those training courses." Maya seemed serious. "I'm not talking about repairing anything. I'm talking about the fact that the complex, Zonetoriga, was a holding prison and observation station." Garrett suddenly became alert. "What sort of observation? Of what?" He asked. "The Flood."

His heart suddenly went cold and he staggered back. "Are you serious? I mean, I heard from the Major that Halos kept those things for observation, not bases planetside. I thought that the fortress worlds were made to, you know, keep the bastards safely tucked away from civilization?" Maya cocked a eyebrow. "You mean your people have encountered our ring worlds?" She asked him. "Well, twice, I think. I read the reports and all, but I didn't know quite what to think. Why? We already seem to know that they mean trouble for the universe, and that they're a bad place to go to or crash land on." She sighed, rubbing her temples. "First off, no, the Halos weren't just holding areas for the flood. They acted as semi colonies for research and spaceports. They were to also act as a safe haven in case we needed to protect our race from extinction." Garrett was really confused now. "Wait, hang on, I thought those things exterminated all life everywhere, including on the ring worlds." Maya rolled her eyes. "They obviously didn't study the materials very much, as they would have found out that some areas are shielded from the effects. It was made as a last resort to… oh no…" She sat down. "That must have been the disaster. The flood were parasitic, and if we contained them for research, we might keep them from harming others and find out something useful. It might have been our undoing. If one person was infected, and then transported themselves to another colony to feed, then multiplied secretly, then finally transported itself to other colonies, there might not have been enough time to react, and the Halos were activated."

Garrett stopped Maya from rambling on. "Wait, are you saying that that colony, Reach II, is near a complex that has flood rampaging through it? And the UNSC is trying to get inside?" He asked. "Yes, that's what I've been telling you this entire time." Garrett pulled on his shirt, grabbed his boots and tied them on quick as lightning, then shot out of the room, Maya following but having difficulty attempting to keep up with his speed. He yelled out for Auron to wake the fuck up and Auron acknowledged, the cybernetics reappearing in his arm. "Ilana, you there?" He yelled out. "Yes Garrett, do, do you need something?" She asked through speakers as he ran down a hallway to the bridge. "Have you been keeping a scan on Reach II?" He asked. "Y-yes, I have. Your people are attempting to break through the outer walls of the complex, through large caves they carved in the ground. T-the complex appears quite well buried, under 12 kilometers of solid rock and iron deposits." Garrett swore. "How far have they gotten?" Ilana was silent for a moment. "Um, halfway. It, it will take them another three days to finish puncturing the outer layers, which is the amount of time it will take us to reach that destination, I'm sorry to say." Garrett jumped onto a lift, Maya much farther down the hallway, and waited. "What do you mean three days for us? How far away are we? I thought we could pocket whatchamaycallit?" He grumbled. "I'm, I'm sorry Garrett. We're hiding in another galaxy. The area we are trying to reach is in a Soliton wave nebula. It, it slows down moving particles drastically and disrupts the pocket fields used, and, and we would have to plane nearby, then jump gate inside. I apologize." Garrett sighed as Maya finally got on the lift and it raised. "That's okay. Don't worry about it. It isn't your fault. I just hope we can get there in time to stop the opening of the biggest blunder humanity has ever done." Ilana didn't speak for a few seconds. "Thank you Garrett. That makes me feel better."

THREE DAYS LATER

"Come on boys! Get in there! We have to check the place out so that the tech heads don't blow themselves away by anything that doesn't like us! Move out!" Marines filed through six massive openings into dark tunnels toward holes into an ancient complex. Lieutenant Jack Merics didn't exactly like dark places. In fact he hated them. He never got over the idea that monsters lived in the night and shadows, and ever since the covenant showed up, he has never left that train of thought. His own squadron pushed through with him, Hernandes keeping point while Jerico kept the rear. They were told to search multiple doors that seemed to have detections of working machinery. Jack held his shotgun at the ready, his flashlights on his helmet as well as his gun checking every which way. He inched toward one of the open doors, and motioned two marines to either side. Another five cover the doors down the hall, and another five covered the hallway going in both directions.

Two marines were carrying small saucer shaped objects on their backs, and both placed one on the ground at key points along the way. Alittle whirring was heard and suddenly a small bulbous pod popped out on top, along with the saucer raising from its base an inch. The top rotated around once, popping open another square opening with many small black holes on two sides. "If anything tries something funny with us, these little watch dogs will show em we can't be caught with our pants around our ankles!" Matan chuckled. "Just make sure those little things don't try and blow us up marine" Jack said. "They're set. Pull pin in one… we got cover." The saucer defenses lowered back onto their bases and waited with its motion sensors and small cameras active. "Alright. Get that door open." He kept his 8-gauge trained on the door as a marine slowly crawled up to the pad, planted an ICE-pick on it, pressed a few buttons and let the little bugger do its job. The cracked plating of the door meant that if they didn't get the electronics to kick over, they could always blast their way through, if of course the material was as strong as he thought it was.

The door wouldn't need it, however, as the pad beeped twice and the door scratched and screeched open, scrapping along its path and stopping halfway. Sparks flew from the line it rended in the ground, and the marines sighed. "Hernandes, pull in first. Mason and Matan, shove in after. The rest of you cover this spot." The marines clicked acknowledgement over their radios as the troops he assigned inside entered and he followed. "Holy Freholes!" Hernandes yelped. The room seemed huge in comparison to the _ArchHammer_ cruiser he came in on. From the looks of it, the place was a cargo storage room, with clamps everywhere for keeping large objects in place and blocks of what looked like materials were placed nearby. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and vents seemed to be everywhere, probably for keeping the temperature of certain objects at reasonable levels. Writing was inscribed on most of the boxes and containers, but all of it couldn't be understood. "Sir! I've got bones over here!" Matan said as he waved the flashlight on his rifle over a skeleton. "What the hell happened here? Looks like some scratch marks on it… wait, what the hell happened to the bones? They look distorted." Jack pointed to warp points in the arms and legs, and one arm seemed to have some dried skin on it. "I don't think we're supposed to be here mon" Mason whispered, looking around at the vents.

"We'll let this stay for the time being. Note it with a flare and check the containers." Hernandes dropped a flare on the ground lit, and moved slowly to a box. "Wait! Did anyone hear that?" He said, stopping and raising his rifle to the vents. "Probably rats mon, don't worry about it" Mason's Jamaican accent popped up. "There aren't any rats on this planet stupid gato!" Hernandes grumbled. "Probably the place is still falling apart, you can't say it isn't in bad shape." Jack got some radio chatter and reported in. "What's the situation where you're at Lieutenant?" Someone asked. "Sir, we found a storage bay. The place looks a little worse for wear, but we found a skeleton. There are a lot of crates around as well, but…" The sound was heard again, this time closer. "Jerico, you catch anything out there?" He yelled outside. "I definitely caught that sound sir. Where the hell is it coming from?" He yelled back. "Beats the fuck out of me, but I think we might want to just…" And the pods opened fire.

"Incoming! We have multiple targets! What the hell?! They look human!" Yelled Jerico as he opened up on something coming for him. Multiple little pods scurried around on the ground to get at the marines, with little success. One of the human forms jumped and landed on a marine and knocked his head clean off his shoulders, and the battle rifle blazed a trail in the wall. Two marines fired shotgun shells into the jumper, but more were coming. Radio chatter popped up from all the other squads. "What the hell are these things? Oh hell! Are these flood?! Retreat!" Yelled from every channel. The saucer pods were unloading everywhere, the little lasers emitting from the baubles on the top, and little what looked like pencil sized rockets flew out of the square opening with holes. Jack squeezed his body halfway through the door when a marine's body flew by him. "Pull back! I repeat! Pull back!" He yelled as another marine had the skittering pods grapple him and pull him down. "They're coming in from the vents! Look!" Yelled Mason as one of the pods pushed open a vent and jumped out, followed by hundreds more. "We're surrounded! Fire at will!" Rifles roared to life as Mason and Matan placed the remaining saucers on the ground around them in the room and let loose. Grenades were heard outside as one last rifle was being heard before the human forms seemed to start to come through the doors. The saucers opened up in all directions, the four marines firing wherever they saw movement.

Jack threw a grenade at the door and grabbed a clip of shotgun shells, running it along the top and reloading the shotgun faster than with just his fingers. He cocked the cannon he was carrying and fired. One of the human forms jumped out of a vent and landed on Hernandes, breaking his right arm. He screamed, and the thing grabbed him and threw him across the floor. Mason answered in turn, firing a hail of ten rounds into the new target. "I'm out of ammo!" Yelled Matan. Jack threw a clip he was carrying in his bandolier. "Make it count!" He yelled as he seemed to go on auto at the door, firing just as fast as he could cock the Super-80B. The little pods danced around on their tentacles, tenaciously trying to make it to the marines inside the small circle of saucer defenses. One of the saucer pods was hit by a human form and blew, sending a small fireball upwards. The marines dove backward, then ran back inside the circle. Soon, the saucers were being taken down, one at a time, then two, and finally there was one left. Hernandes had pulled his pistol out and fired with his left hand, but didn't have much accuracy with the pain. Matan was grappled by one of pods, and it searched for a way to insert a needle object into his back. Mason fired at the pod, and it popped, with the needle stuck in Matan's skin. A human form jumped onto Mason's shoulders and pounded his head in, brain matter splattering everywhere. Jack grabbed two grenades and pulled the pins, throwing them at groups of the enemy, but they were everywhere, and Hernandes was jumped by ten of the little pods. Matan tried to run, but was trampled under a wall of the little creatures. Jack was the last one left. He pulled one more grenade. "If I'm gonna die, I'll take you bastards out with me!" He yelled, and tried to pull the pin. One of the pods jumped on his back and inserted a needle arm into his back, and he couldn't pull the pin. He jumped in such pain, that he arched his back and fell backwards. He then blacked out.

ONE HOUR LATER

Jack awoke to the blackness. He was feeling pain, but it seemed to be a dull ache. He tried to move his arms, but they seemed to not respond. He then sensed another presence… inside. The second mind seemed ravenous, hungry for anything it could grab. He tried to think about if he was dead or not, and the thought interested the extra mind. It tried to rip the thought from his mind, and he became confused. _What the hell is this thing? ARE YOU FLOOD?!_ He suddenly remembered what happened before. He had lost his entire marine squad with him, and these bastards had got him. _Hernandes, Jerico, Mason, Matan, Quanden, all of them…_ and the second mind tried to pull those thoughts as well. _NO! YOU LITTLE BASTARDS AREN'T GOING TO TAKE WHAT IS MY RIGHT TO HAVE! _He struggled to move, but the mind held fast. He started to seeth with hate and anger, and the mind became confused, and actually loosened it's hold. The thoughts he was producing were of ripping the pod apart and eating it, then tearing the rest apart with his hands. He sent thought after thought of flame and destruction toward it, and it actually recoiled_ I WILL NOT FALL TO YOU BASTARDS! I'VE HEARD WHAT YOU DO TO PEOPLE! TAKING AWAY LIFE AND DESTROYING EVERYTHING EVERYONE HOLDS DEAR! I'M GONNA BEAT YOU!_ The mind became fearful, scared of this thing that had so much hate for it. The blackness recoiled, trying to lash out again and again, trying to eat away at him. He sent anger and hatred at it left and right, trying his best to fight to the end. He wouldn't give up, not until he was completely drained. The mind receded, but he tried to grab at it. The mind suddenly became terrified at what it had attached to, and fought to escape, to let go of the body. Jack pulled at anything he could, trying to gain thoughts or any hint of info from the second mind. He actually found one, a memory of a past he didn't know of. He saw through the eyes of another person, looking at a human… no… a forerunner, or someone that he thought was a forerunner. It had pointed ears, like in books he read about fantasy, and it was screaming.

The mind tried to break away, but he held fast._ IT LOOKS LIKE YOU LITTLE PUKES CAN HAVE IT WORK BOTH WAYS_. Jack's will was too strong to overcome, and the mind shattered. He felt a wash of memories erupt over him, a kiss to a woman, a marriage, children running, a battle, and many other things, including tastes and smells. He even gained the memory of a child having surgery. He pulled back, afraid of what had happened. He soon realized that he could move now, and opened his eyes. There were humans around him… no… flood forms. He was still in darkness, but somehow he could see. The forms didn't seem to be very human anymore either. Arms were twisted as tentacles were popping out, and clothes were torn at knees and some weren't wearing anything. A woman's form walked by, her left arm missing and part of her face ripped up. She was completely naked, and bones seemed to be protruding at the shoulders. He felt like vomiting, but found that he couldn't.

He looked at himself. He seemed similar, but not so much. His body actually looked like it was healing, slowly, but still visibly changing. It seemed to be quickening as well. His veins were showing, and a greenish fluid was pulsing through them. _I thought these things ate us, so why am I healing so quickly?_ He thought. _Maybe since I broke that thing's will and mind, I got something? Or maybe reversed the effects? _He looked at his right arm. A tentacle was protruding from his wrist, and it hurt where the opening was, but the pain seemed to die off, and the tentacle seemed to… absorb into his arm. He tried to scream, and came out with a roar. The other flood paid no heed, believing he was struggling against their comrade. He got up, saw that his arms seemed to bulge, and he shot forward to land on his face, laying in the opposite direction from where his head was pointing. He turned over, and looked at his arms. The tentacles and other things seemed to be absorbed, and his muscles were growing larger. He could feel his bones, somewhat burning, but also seemed… stronger? Better somehow?

He got up again, slowly at first, testing his body. It was altering itself, and he didn't know why. He started to feel some relief, but it was short lived. The flood around him were starting to take notice, and most turned to look at him. One saw that he seemed afraid, and knew something was wrong. It lunged, and Jack grabbed at it faster than anything he had seen. He grappled its throat and held it. It struggled, trying to get at him, but he twisted and snapped the neck. The form seemed to continue to fight, and others tried to attack as well. He didn't have any weapons, so he fought as hard as he could with his bare hands. He felt a whip cross his back, and he roared, then the pain died and he turned. His own arm found a tentacle pierce from his left, and he didn't feel anything. The tentacle grew and became rigid, and he punched at the thing that whipped him in his back. A hit was felt on his right arm, but he ignored it and kept attacking. The rigid tentacle punctured through the chest of the target he punched, and it crumpled to the floor. What seemed to be in its chest cavity deflated and seemed to die. He started to attack anything that came near him, and he was starting to get overwhelmed. Suddenly, a blast was heard, and a large metal object slammed into a group of the flood. A hail of plasma erupted into the room, destroying anything that was in the trajectory. Jack turned towards the door and saw a large black… thing standing there. The door had been ripped from where it was, and a large shield seemed to be on its left arm. _Hunter?_ He thought _No, that head… that body… isn't that...?_ He saw the thing lung with unnatural speed toward some more flood, igniting some sort of saber and cutting whatever came in range. Most of the flood tried to attack their new threat, with no success. It jumped into the air, dropping a grenade. Jack ran and jumped around the opening the thing left. The grenade blew, and fire erupted from the opening. Jack stood there, looking at the opening. The huge armored being jumped out of the room, turned toward him, and aimed. He fell back on his butt, bringing his arms up for cover. He tried to push back with his feet, trying to get away. He suddenly heard a voice over a speaker. "What the? Are you flood?" Jack slightly pulled away his arms from his head. Fog lights were on the shoulders, making it difficult to see anything as the light was blinding. He tried to speak, managed "Naug. Naug. Erm… nat… a… flod. Naught… flood." His voice seemed to be coming back, but quite slowly. "then what are you?" The being asked. "Hueman. Lietenant Mirics." The thing looked shocked. "Huh? How? You were in the middle of a flood groupie! You have to be flood!" Jack pulled away, bringing his hands up to his eyes to shield from the light. "No! Not Flood! Lieutenant Merics! UNSC! Nearly flood!" The thing lowered its gun and dimmed its lights. "You want to explain to me how you're 'nearly flood'?"


	22. Won't you be my friend?

Jack sat there on the ground staring at the giant… thing. It was very terrifying to see something so large and yet so fast. The metal giant tore through the group of flood in the other room, and was going to take him out like it was nothing. "I say again, how can you be 'nearly flood'?" The armored behemoth said. "I… I'm a lieutenant in the UNSC. My… my name is Jack Merics, 178th support battalion. I'm not really flood, at least I don't think so…" he weakly said, a bit fearing the truth. "Then what are you?" The booming voice came from the machine, and seemed to slightly sound like it was coming over radio. "I'm human, at least I was. One of those…" and a rifle shot flew by his head. "Shit, Auron, why didn't you tell me there were targets behind me?" He yelled inside the mech. "You were busy gaining information. To interrupt would have been ill advised under such a phenomenal discovery. A human being that has overcome flood control is quite interesting for many scientists." Garrett got a concom from Maya. "Get him back here. I'd like to see what's involved in this. I've never heard of anyone breaking away from the flood, and I'm not about to believe it now unless there is proof." Garrett hesitated, and some more rifle shots flew by. "It's the rogue! He's with the flood! All units! I have flood activity in this section! I've found the traitor Captain! I repeat, I have flood activity in this section and need back up! My team can't…" and a rifle shot flew by and pierced the radio plugs on the marine's helmet. Garrett aimed another shot at the guns of the marines and let off small bursts from the machine rifle, either blowing the guns from their hands or knocking them out with blackout rounds. He reached around and grabbed the man nearby and boosted around the corner.

"Garrett, are all the beacons in place?" Maya asked. "I'm working out here!" He yelled back, throwing a flash grenade nearby and charging into another storage room. Rifle fire pinged off the shields, and did little more than annoy him. "I don't care! Have you put the beacons in place?" She yelled. "Damn you're a pain in the ass! I think so! You happy? Hold up!" and fired a staccato burst towards the door, pulling through another hallway. Jack struggled in his grasp of his left hand, and it was working on his nerves. "You! Stop moving! It's throwing my aim off trying to keep you held!" He yelled. Jack continued to move, and hit the armored hand with quite a bit of strength. Garrett sighed, and brought the butt of his rifle onto his neck lightly. The man was suppose to be knocked out, but he kept moving, rubbed his neck slightly, and tried to pull free. "Son of a… determined little bugger…" and aimed the rifle at him. Despite such close range, the bullets wouldn't kill him, so he fired. The rounds entered, then the holes vanished. Jack took ten seconds before the six rounds started to work, and even then he was only drowsy. He started to lessen in fighting, and Garrett took that time to get to a new location, then shot a few more rounds into him to totally knock him out. "Shit! I'm out of beacons! Ilana, can you send more down somehow?" He yelled, and saw a rocket from a SPNKr 42a fly by. He threw another grenade towards where his counter battery sensors told him the shot came from, and jumped through another opening. He raced down a hallway and bashed his way through a door into a group of marines, and bowled them over. "I, I can't Garrett, I'm sorry. Perhaps, I mean, maybe you can use the main scanner beacons you're carrying. They'll take some time to detect everything, so, so you'll have to guard that area." Garrett raised an eyebrow. "I have scanner beacons? Um… why wasn't I told that before? Never mind, I'll ask later." He set one up, and dropped some waypoint shields around him.

Garrett eyed the openings around him. There were four doorways into the new cargo room he had entered, and he needed to make sure no one busted in while the scanner did it's magic. He engaged a pod on his back, and six small flower like fliers popped out, floated to each side of the four doors, and clamped onto the walls. He then threw some auto mines towards the doors, and saw them skitter to a good location and attach, then cloak. The little beacon he was pretty much sitting on started doing what it needed to do, and darned if it wasn't slow. The 180 degree traverse from one side of the room to the other in a half moon vertical verified fan took ten minutes, sending a wealth of information on what was inside the station to Garrett's HUD. Garrett wasn't interested at that time, as someone had brought a warthog inside and started to rain rail fire on his position through one of the doors. Marines held two more openings, and flood were trying to get through another. Firepower was traded for firepower, bullets flew left and right, and Garrett was starting to have a hard time holding them back. One flood combat form jumped and landed on him, his shields flared to electrocute the hostile creature, and it charred instantly and blew off. As he turned to smash his shield into a marine trying to close the distance, he noticed a wound where flood usually enter into the host's body on Merics. The wound was small, not very noticeable, and was healing. He ran a small scan while firing more rounds at his left, and noticed that the infection form, as it seemed to be called, was being absorbed into the body.

"Scan is done! Pull out!" Maya yelled as Garrett pulled the gear he was using around him back. The fliers disengaged from the walls and floated back to the pod on his back, firing as they traversed the room at a leisurely pace of a grunt walking. Garrett threw another grenade, and noticed Jack was waking up. He fired a few blackout rounds into him again, putting him under, and picked him up off the ground where he left him so he could fight. Garrett rushed an opening, saw the marines pull back and he leapt. He jumped to a second story floor with guard rails and a winch above, and ran upwards. The floor spiraled upwards toward the ceiling, and towards a door to what looked like a control room. Rifle fire flared on his shields occasionally, but he was mostly ignored as the flood fought towards the marines. He leapt a corner and barreled through the door, and found an iris opening on the ceiling. "Auron, I need station specs for this area." a map of control systems and floor levels appeared, and the floor under him started to rise. The iris above him opened, and he started to raise into solid rock. "Bad idea! Ilana!" He yelled as he saw paneling slide around the elevator he was on. He couldn't leave now, and he was about to be crushed. He wondered how long the shields and armor could take the pushing, and when he reached the ceiling he placed his hands against it. He pushed hard, but the hydraulics or anti-grav systems used were too strong and started to push him through the rock. "Ilana! Auron! Somebody stop this thing!"

"Hold on! I've got a lock!" Ilana yelled, and the rock above him busted open with a blaze of blue light. His shields flickered somewhat, and the charge rate of the defense field lowered to 10. "Holy shit! Watch what you're doing!" He yelled. "I'm, I'm sorry! I only used the point defense systems at minimum power! Are you alright?" She said. "Transport! Transport would be good! Leaving is a good idea!" A hand shot through the panels to try and grab at Jack, as he was laying on the floor. Garrett saw it get cut off as the lift raised beyond the iris. Suddenly, it seemed he was ejected upwards as if he was fired by an electro magnetic shotgun. Jack seemed somewhat singed by the charge shot through him, and he seemed to have a sunburn from the shot Ilana fired, but other than that he was unharmed. His altitude rose quickly, and as he reached the top entrance point, he grabbed Jack flying next to him and grappled the side of the hole. He flipped upside down and landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him. His shields flickered slightly, and Jack laid next to him. "Transport. Now." He said, getting up slowly, slightly staggering and trying to gain air. The sleek silverish ship flew in quickly, and extended a winch cable. It dragged along the ground, whipping along boulders and rocks. He positioned himself to grab it, grabbed Jack and waited. Firepower was blazing across the sky, tracing the path the ship flew, and ground forces were desperately trying to fight back the flood wave coming toward them. The cable hit, he grabbed, and the actuators and hydraulics in the arm screamed at the speed of the lifting into the cargo bay. He let go of the cable and landed neatly on the floor. He looked out of the bay door, and saw gunfire everywhere. "Can they win? Is Reach II going to fall?" He asked. "I don't know. They, they might fight the flood back. They do have a chance, but, but I don't know" Ilana whispered. Garrett shook his head slowly, hoping against hope that they did win.

Jack woke up clamped to a medical bed. Floating what looked like angular large footballs watched him with a bluish sensor, and red glowing guns were aimed at him all around. A robot of some sort stood nearby, clunky and seeming to carry some heavy firepower on one arm, while a large claw was on the other. Turrets were in the ceiling and on pods on the ground as he looked around, and all of the weapons were pointed directly at him. He tested his restraints, with no success. The defenses around him twitched at his movement, watching everything he did, waiting for him to try something. He heard a door nearby open, and in walked a raven haired woman, quite beautiful, and had pointed ears like the people in those memories. She wore a lab coat over her clothes, and he couldn't tell what else she was wearing. "Well, the so called "human" is awake. Sleep well?" She said in a sarcastic voice. "What the… Shit. Lieutenant Jack Merics, 178th support battalion, United Nations Space Corp. Soldier number 382615." She walked over to a desk holding numerous gadgets. "Tell me, how did you get all of these healing abilities and strength? Weren't you taken over by the flood?" She picked up a glove like object, and moved toward him. "Lieutenant Jack Merics, 178th support battalion, United Nations Space Corp. Soldier number 382615." She ran her gloved hand over his body, three inches above him and moved from his feet to his head. "I'm not interrogating you, Lieutenant, I'm trying to run some tests. You've been infected with an alien organism and I want to know why it isn't controlling you, and also why you can heal quite rapidly and improve your body." She moved over his head, a blue scanning sensor moving across his eyes and making him squint.

Maya looked behind her and watched a holoscreen pop up. Data ran by on his blood glucose levels, white cells, red cells, bone structure, all body functions, etc. She twitched her pinky on the gloved hand and the holoscreen changed to information involving the flood. She then twitched again, holding two screens together and scanning brain waves, heart beats, and temperature, along with dissolving or eroding tissue. Scan showed no eroding tissue, and only one brain wave or consciousness. "That's odd. Why is it that I'm seeing only one wave scan?" She turned back towards him. "I don't know" Jack said. "I think you do. Care to tell me?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I, I don't know! I don't know okay?" He yelled. "You don't have to yell, I'm standing right here. You can either tell me what you think happened, or I can cut it out of you. Your choice, and I would definitely be interested in samples of your tissue. To gain full information on human flood parasitic relationship would be quite a discovery. Care to take the easy path?" She asked with an evil glimmer in her eyes and a slightly smile. "What the… Hey! You can't!" She took the glove off and went to grab some sharp objects, and a man walked in through the door. "What the… hey, he's a marine Maya. Back off. Have you tried talking nice to him?" He asked. "I've tried, but all he's interested in is playing dumb. There is only one reason why I'm only able to get one brain wave scan on him, and it isn't because of the flood infection form dying. The infection form was absorbed, and he's getting stronger. That reason is in him, and he's going to tell us, one way or the other. Ilana would love nothing more than to have the defense systems annihilate him, so this is his only chance." Garrett gawked. "This is torture Maya. You can't do this. And Ilana doesn't want him on board?" She turned around with a knife. "He can tell us what he knows. Tell us his story. If he's willing to cooperate. And yes, she positively can't stand having him on this ship. She wants us to throw him off or kill him." Jack looked back and forth, and was quite scared. "Marine, my name is Captain Garrett Gryphen, previous with the UNSC and SPARTAN program. I used to be on your side, so I suggest you listen. Do what she asks okay? I can't save you on this." Jack stared at him. "Wait, I heard you're the rogue marine with that crazy armor. You traitor!" Garrett got pissed. "TRAITOR?! I'M NO TRAITOR! I WAS GOING TO BE CUT INTO LITTLE PIECES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE BY THE PEOPLE YOU FIGHT FOR! TRAITOR MY ASS! THEY WERE TRAITORS TO ME!" Jack laid there, dumbfounded. "What? You abandoned us. Why would the UNSC do that? They took care of you, sir!" Garrett sighed. "They were going to have me executed so they could cut me into little pieces and find out what the armor did. They didn't care about me at all! They would probably do the same to you if they got their hands on you!" Jack was silent. Garrett was right. "Time is up. Cutting the leg off now" Maya said. "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you what I think I know! No knives! I'll be good! I don't know much though!"

Jack was allowed off the medical bed, without restraints, although all the security bots were watching him closely. Maya recorded all the information he told her, and acted in all points and references just like a psychiatrist. "And that's all I know." Maya tapped a stylus on her lip a few times then stopped the recordings, and started to close down certain things. "Alright then. Garrett can handle you now." Jack sat on the bed, looking at her, then glancing around at the machines aiming weapons at him. "Um… so I just… sit here?" She glanced over her shoulder and sighed. Maya touched a glowing panel nearby and called Garrett down. Garrett came in after ten minutes and yawned. "He needs to get a room, preferably one that is secured. I need to run some more tests." Garrett raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a bell hop, Maya, I'm a marine. My job states that I fight, not bring luggage to a person's room. Why don't you show him?" She turned around in her chair. "Because I'm the only person who can run these tests, and since both of you were marines, you might be able to talk to him better than I can." Jack mumbled a few things afterward. "Talking to a cute lady is nice… even if guns are pointed at me…" Maya twitched at his eyes watching her. "The entire idea of a primate such as you being on this ship makes me ill. The only reason Garrett is on this ship is because his armor can potentially match this ship's offensive capabilities, among other things. So in other words, "The only reason I haven't thrown you out of an airlock or disintegrated you is because of your friend here. And don't ever call me cute again. Your certainly not my dead husband, and Garrett I allowed to say once." Garrett scratched his head for a second. "When did I call her that? Pain in the Ass comes to mind, but I don't…" Maya started to look pissed. "Okay! Time to get you a room!" And both of them walked out of the door.

Jack walked next to Garrett down a long hallway in mostly silence. He watched the man for the entire time, wondering what he was thinking. "Hungry?" Garrett asked. "So you're going to stop and get a bite to eat? Mind if I get something too?" He said. "That was what I was asking. Are you hungry?" Jack looked dumb for a second, then nodded. They walked into a large dark room and the lights suddenly turned on. The room seemed to look similar to a mess hall, but far larger and seemed to be filled with many round tables and cushy chairs around them (Think mess halls from the Enterprise D in Star Trek NG and that scene in Star Wars Clone Wars with the clones eating.) Garrett walked to a square opening in the wall and asked for some Chinese food. "No MSG. None. Light soy sauce… My stomach's a little upset" He said. The food materialized in the opening. Jack's eyes widened. "Wow. Wish these were in our ships." Garrett turned to Jack. "That's what I said. Well? You gonna ask for something?" Jack stood there for a few seconds on the blue carpet, his bare feet feeling comfortable. "Five one pound bacon cheeseburgers with three packs of French fries and two Cokes." Garrett's eyes widened. "And for dessert I'll have two slices of New York cheesecake and a bowl of Vanilla ice cream." The items materialized in the opening, and Jack attempted to hold part of the package in his arms. "Take two trips. Don't drop anything. I don't think Ilana would get mad if I told her not to, but Maya would roast you if a stain appeared on the ground from ketchup. Besides, it would give her another thing to bitch about for us humans being dirty and slobs or what not." Jack nodded, and took two trips. On his second trip, he noticed multiple robots watching him nearby, following his movements with what looked like energy weapons. "You didn't think you wouldn't go unguarded now did you?" Garrett said. "Uh… I guess not." Jack sat down after Garrett and they began eating. "So… when they said you got power hungry and didn't want to defend humanity, that was a lie?" Jack asked. "Didn't want to fight huh? Jesus… the reason I went rogue was either that or I get killed by our own people and get chopped up into little pieces for research." Jack's eyes widened. "They wanted to kill you… so that they could gain a super soldier armor exceeding the Spartans? That would mean destruction of the covenant… and give them a weapon to control the UNSC" Jack said, averting his eyes to his food. "I'm just SO glad they value my life so much that they were willing to flush it down the toilet and perhaps other marine's lives as well. These factions want technology not to help humanity, but to affirm their control in the UNSC and lead it. Just wonder what would have happened if we left you inside the base?" Garrett said as he dug into the rice and chow mein. Jack thought for a sec. "Same thing they tried on you. That woman, Maya, she was going to chop me into little pieces to find out why I regenerate so quickly." Garrett looked up from his food. "Yah, about that… why can you do that? You seem to absorb bullets and damage like it was nothing. And you mastering that flood infection form that tried to control you…" Jack raised his eyebrows. "All I know is that when it tried to control me, I got angry and thought up some really nasty things. It seemed to be afraid and, well, died of shock. Now it seems to be absorbing into me."

Garrett and Jack ate in silence after their conversation, and Garrett showed Jack to his quarters. "Sorry for this, but your room is restricted in certain ways. Security protocol and all that. You are still a hazard until proven otherwise." Jack nodded and smiled. "I understand. Um… where's the bathroom?" Garrett's eyes widened. "Ilana? Can you change the shower and toilet?" Ilana acknowledged over the com channels and the bathroom nearby altered. "By the way, who is this Ilana you keep talking to? The AI?" Garrett turned to leave. "Yep. She's the Master AI on this ship. Say hello Ilana." No answer was heard from the other side. "Ilana? aren't you going to say anything?" Garrett asked. "No" was all that was heard from her. "Well that's rude" Garrett grumbled. "I've got to get some things checked out with equipment and all, so if you need anything, just… ask for a comlink to me or something. I doubt Ilana or Maya will help you." Jack turned around and looked at the surroundings. "Wait, you two are all that's on this ship?" Garrett turned around to walk out the door. "The three of us were all that was on this ship until you popped up." Jack looked quizzically. "You mean the AI? No I mean physical bodied beings on the ship." Garrett nodded. "Ilana has a physical body?! How?!" He yelped. "Long story, not enough time, got shit to do and you are staying here. If she saw you on the bridge within ten meters of her she'd probably have everything in here blow you to hell and back nine times over." Garrett said goodbye and walked out. Jack walked over to the bed and sat down. "Is there a tv in here?" He asked. A fairly large screen appeared out of the ceiling and started to switch through channels of Spanish channels and German channels, then hit an English channel and stayed. "Uh… change?" He asked. The channel changed to a cooking show involving Jonathan Engelid, a master chef, cooking a lobster. "Change to… news?" He asked. The channel changed to news channel nine, showing local as well as intergalactic news through the colonies. "Alright… I at least know about the home front." And laid there on the bed for three hours, the entire time his body bulking up and growing stronger.

(Heads up to all those who think Jack will become a super trooper that can break through anything and absorb anything. No. He can absorb lots of punishment, but can eventually succumb to the damage. And no, he can't break through everything, his body make up can only be altered so much and strengthened so much before you can't consider him a hybrid at all, but a completely new species and even then bio matter has it's limits… oops. I think I just gave away a hint. Oh well.)


	23. Picnics and Area 51

Ilana sat cross-legged on a couch in the observation deck. She stared at millions of holo screens per minute trying to find something, searching for something that was just right. "There!" She yelled to herself as she stopped on one screen. The view was of a planet. Type K-6, habitable, no natives, 1.0 Earth gravities, two moons, two suns, nominal temperature. The planet, named Asmos by Humans and something that really sounded like multiple warbles and hoots for the covenant, was quite lovely. It was fully terraformed, meaning that it was in all honesty an Earth, before humans did anything. Ilana deleted all other screens except for one other, which was tracking signals and communications from planets known to have Forerunner outposts and bases. She continued to watch the planet, however, and zoomed in. She had sent nine probes to the planet to scan and verify a specific spot, which happened to be under an Aberon Tree. The tree looked similar to an old oak, but six times larger, and had bulbous blue fruit growing near its leaves. From her scans, the fruit seemed incapable of being ingested by humans or covenant alike, unless they wanted to gain a serious case of constipation.  
Ilana zoomed in some more and saw that the tree was near a cliff area, overlooking a beach near the northeastern coast of the third eastern continent. Short grass that had similar genetic make up to what humans called "Kentucky Blue" surrounded the tree. Lush greenery was everywhere, due in fact to the place being in its third spring of the year. _Perfect place for a picnic_ Ilana mumbled to herself. She had been reading the romance stories that the humans had created, although most of them had been centered around sexual maneuvers. She seemed confused in some ways as how a woman could fall so easily for these masculine men, seeing as how by the information given, most were controlling bastards who seemed to have an overactive libido and did not have enough blood reaching their brains to do anything productive with their lives aside from be farmhands or gardeners. The woman on the other hand seemed to be successful lawyers or corporation owners. She would have to ask a few questions from Garrett later involving these things.  
Ilana realized at that moment what her first questions needed to be. She started daydreaming about her asking him to go with her for a picnic, and he would accept, and she would wear a yellow pokadot dress and strap sandals and a sun hat, and their eyes would meet while eating and… She started to giggle profusely and hugging herself. She wondered if Garrett was thinking similar thoughts…

MEANWHILE>

Damnit… Damnit… No… Where does this wire go… AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL WOULD HELP GOD! Garrett played with the innards of a Pelican brought aboard. The thing was a mess: plasma scarring, bullet holes from stray rounds, burn marks from reentry, and parts of the left wing's two thrusters were missing. Jack sat nearby, popping open containers that were aboard the small craft. Apparently, after being brought onboard and basically accepted as no threat, having found similar medical evidence to another soldier having a similar incident happen to them, he was allowed to move about on his own accord. Ilana still wouldn't let him near her however. "What the hell is that smell?" Garrett asked and looked up at Jack.  
Apparently, the smell was coming from the box Jack had just pried open. "Like rotten eggs… Jesus… That ain't natural…" Garrett covered his face and coughed. "Close it up! Close it up!" He yelled under coughs and choking. Jack closed the container and sneezed. "Were those supposed to be MREs?" He asked. "You mean Meals Rejected by Everybody?" Garrett said, his eyes watering. Jack rubbed his eyes from the fumes. "That I'm guessing goes in the trash pile doesn't it?" Jack asked, and Garrett rapidly nodded his head up and down. Jack picked the box up and threw it out into the large pile nearby, seven times larger than the useful pile. "Does plasma do that to all human foods?" Maya asked. "Not to my knowledge. I've never even seen plasma do anything to any item, aside from melting it" Jack said. Maya sat in the cockpit checking panels. "Again, why do you want this thing fixed up? Hardly worth the effort to use something as primitive as this for transport. Just keep using the corvette that Ilana ferries you around in" Maya said as she flicked a few switches to find that two of them would come off in her hand. Garrett jumped back from a spark in the wires. "We need this to get by patrols on human occupied planets, and what better way then to go in with a Pelican? Besides… Ilana won't let me drive the corvette…" Garrett mumbled. Maya stifled a laugh. "Your manliness is being stomped on by not letting you drive?" Maya chuckled. "IT'S NOT THAT! I just don't like leaving my life up to any flight jockeys… even if it is Ilana." "Amen to that brother" Jack said as he opened a weapons locker and the contents of junk spilled out. Garrett smacked his hand over his face. "I'm never getting this bucket to fly…" He groaned and shook his head slowly. "My words exactly" Maya said. Garrett and Jack in unison grumbled "Shut up" and stopped what they were doing.  
Garrett got up and slowly walked out of the docking room. He had spent the past sixteen hours cleaning the inside of the Pelican and now he had one thing on his mind… beer, and perhaps food to go with the beer, and then immediate unconsciousness from exhaustion. He rubbed his eyes and closed the door behind him to have both Jack and Maya walk into it. "Sorry" he mumbled as the door opened again. "I guess everyone's gotta sleep sooner or later" Jack said. "Hey, how come you rarely sleep?" Garrett asked Maya as he headed for the nearest mess hall. "My kind can go for six days without sleep, then we have to rest." Jack giggled. "And on the seventh day, god invented the bed, and everyone hibernated… which is what I'm going to do…" he giggled as he headed down another hallway. Garrett didn't even answer to the joke, just kept walking and finally reached a door with the words in Forerunner. Before they could alter to English, he walked in and headed for the opening in the wall. He checked his movementwhen his body decided suddenly that an emergencyharddroptoa sleeping area would be appreciated,and instead walked right over to the couch closest to him. He aimed, missed, and crashed right into the ground, fast asleep.

Apparently, the smell was coming from the box Jack had just pried open. "Like rotten eggs… Jesus… That ain't natural…" Garrett covered his face and coughed. "Close it up! Close it up!" He yelled under coughs and choking. Jack closed the container and sneezed. "Were those supposed to be MREs?" He asked. "You mean Meals Rejected by Everybody?" Garrett said, his eyes watering. Jack rubbed his eyes from the fumes. "That I'm guessing goes in the trash pile doesn't it?" Jack asked, and Garrett rapidly nodded his head up and down. Jack picked the box up and threw it out into the large pile nearby, seven times larger than the useful pile. "Does plasma do that to all human foods?" Maya asked. "Not to my knowledge. I've never even seen plasma do anything to any item, aside from melting it" Jack said. Maya sat in the cockpit checking panels. "Again, why do you want this thing fixed up? Hardly worth the effort to use something as primitive as this for transport. Just keep using the corvette that Ilana ferries you around in" Maya said as she flicked a few switches to find that two of them would come off in her hand. Garrett jumped back from a spark in the wires. "We need this to get by patrols on human occupied planets, and what better way then to go in with a Pelican? Besides… Ilana won't let me drive the corvette…" Garrett mumbled. Maya stifled a laugh. "Your manliness is being stomped on by not letting you drive?" Maya chuckled. "IT'S NOT THAT! I just don't like leaving my life up to any flight jockeys… even if it is Ilana." "Amen to that brother" Jack said as he opened a weapons locker and the contents of junk spilled out. Garrett smacked his hand over his face. "I'm never getting this bucket to fly…" He groaned and shook his head slowly. "My words exactly" Maya said. Garrett and Jack in unison grumbled "Shut up" and stopped what they were doing.Garrett got up and slowly walked out of the docking room. He had spent the past sixteen hours cleaning the inside of the Pelican and now he had one thing on his mind… beer, and perhaps food to go with the beer, and then immediate unconsciousness from exhaustion. He rubbed his eyes and closed the door behind him to have both Jack and Maya walk into it. "Sorry" he mumbled as the door opened again. "I guess everyone's gotta sleep sooner or later" Jack said. "Hey, how come you rarely sleep?" Garrett asked Maya as he headed for the nearest mess hall. "My kind can go for six days without sleep, then we have to rest." Jack giggled. "And on the seventh day, god invented the bed, and everyone hibernated… which is what I'm going to do…" he giggled as he headed down another hallway. Garrett didn't even answer to the joke, just kept walking and finally reached a door with the words in Forerunner. Before they could alter to English, he walked in and headed for the opening in the wall. He checked his movementwhen his body decided suddenly that an emergencyharddroptoa sleeping area would be appreciated,and instead walked right over to the couch closest to him. He aimed, missed, and crashed right into the ground, fast asleep. Thirteen hours later> 

Garrett awoke to something poking him in the arm. He threw a punch, hit the target with lightning speed, and went back to sleep.

Thirty minutes later>

Garrett awoke to find a bewildered Jack, now nearby a collapsed table holding his jaw. "What the hell happened to you?" Garrett asked. "You don't remember?" Jack mumbled. "Remember what?" "You hit me." Garrett blinked at Jack. "No I didn't" He said. "Yes you did" Jack nodded. "No, I didn't… did I?" Jack nodded again. "Were you the one poking me?" Garrett meekly asked. Jack nodded again. "Whoopsie" he said, then got up. His right cheek seemed to have the imprint of the carpeting he laid on. "Maya's got some info for us. We need to head to the lab pronto." "Food first?" Garrett asked. Jack shook his head. "Crap. (mumbling incoherent insults)"

Garrett and Jack walked into the lab and Maya sat down at a station. "As you are well aware we are trying to stop the factions of Earth's government from gaining any new forerunner technology. From what I've been checking, we've succeeded. The one thing we haven't been able to figure out is why they are so interested in the lost outposts so much now, and as well as the flood." Garrett decided to take a seat, thinking that this would take awhile. Jack jumped up on a tech bed and realized all the sharp objects nearby him were for dissection, so he jumped off and took another seat. "Power hungry warmongers. They want advantages over the rest. Nothing new" Garrett said. "Not really. Do you realize the reason for excavating New Reach's outpost was not just for technology or archeology? The other reason was something else. Your squad, Lieutenant, was that reason." Jack scratched his head. "Come again? Why? For what?" He asked. "They were using you to get infested by the flood. They would dissect you and research the parts, and make a potential new weapon. Something on par with the Spartans."

Jack 's eyes bugged. "We were guinea pigs?!" He gritted his teeth. "Almost. None of the flood combat forms were recovered, as an FAE was launched into the tunnels to stop the onslaught. Still, this is troubling and it will probably happen again. The second reason for starting this infestation is a little more troubling however…" Maya hesitated. "How troubling?" Garrett asked. "Do you really want to know?" Maya whispered. Both of the men nodded. She sighed, then turned back around and pressed a few keys on a holo screen. "Halo. A research platform, home to live on, as well as a weapon. That is what they want to have." Both of the men were silent. "I get it. They'll send in their own modified troops to take control of the rings, then use them as trump cards. The altered troops wouldn't be able to be infested as they were already infested before. But what use would a halo be? It destroys ALL life in the galaxy, not just on a planetary scale. They'd be killing themselves" Jack said. "Not necessarily. The information a specific A.I. Brought back after one of the halos were destroyed has allowed their researchers to try and create a way to specialize the weapons on the ring world to hit pin point targets. The research is currently being applied on four planets, which Ilana and I have not been able to gain information on. We can't seem to download the data as they have some odd two hundred special ops A.I.s keeping any external sources out. One A.I. Is no problem against Ilana, but two hundred is difficult even for her. They are under heavy guard, and with…" Maya couldn't finish her sentence before Garrett and Jack walked out. "Where are you going?" Maya asked to the backs of the two men as they exited the room. Neither answered. She hated being ignored, so she followed. They walked toward an armory that was altered with UNSC weapons and covenant alike.  
Garrett and Jack started to suit up in black ODST combat suits and weapons. "What are you guys thinking of?" Maya asked eyes wide. "Infiltrate those planets, steal or destroy the research, and kill the research specialists." Maya's eyes widened even further and she gawked. "You're not serious?" She asked. Jack threw a satchel of pineapple grenades to Garrett as he picked up a BR55 Battle Rifle. He was still used to the old MA5Bs, but these were more accurate with three round bursts, and the SMGs cover the bullet hosing. He packed a couple of the old "pod" grenades as well because of the concussive effect they had over the new pineapples. "Garrett, pass me the charge packs for the BR55P" Jack asked and Garrett chucked them over. The BR55P was a prototype hybrid between the Battle Rifle and a Plasma Rifle. It fired superheated tungsten rounds with a rail effect to pack the plasma into a magnetic field around the bullets. They didn't fire any faster due to the plasma surrounded the bullet, but they were effective against shields as well as flesh.

"Why aren't you using the battle frame? Wouldn't it be easier?" Maya asked. "Hallways are too small. Besides, if they saw me coming, they'd download all the information they had into multiple portable mainframes and evacuate the scientists. Mission failure" Garrett said as he strapped a Jackal shield to his arm and attached three other items: An Elite's energy shield, an active camouflage, and an electro magnetic reflection device that lasted for five seconds. The jackal's shield was for keeping them alive in a firefight, and the elite's shield was the same. The camouflage was for keeping them undetected, although they'd shrug them off if the enemy started using IR goggles. The new reflection device actually sent a magnetic field around the wearer, allowing bullets and other ammunition sent at them to hit the field and reflect in a random direction. Since it only lasted five seconds, this was meant for running between cover or when you were caught off guard and needed to retreat to said cover. It recharged, however, so it was still quite useful. The entire object of the mission was to not get into a firefight, so all of the extras were for added precautions. Garrett put his black baseball cap on with a sage green raven on it, and Jack tied back a black bandana. "Ilana. We have repair mechs near the Pelican right?" Garrett asked over the com. "Huh? What? Oh… yes, we do… but why do you need them? Why not…" Garrett cut her off. "Get them working on the Pelican ASAP. I need that thing notorized and motorized in one hour. Alright?" Ilana hesitated. "Alright. But what are you going to do?" Garrett checked the HUD on his Rifle, then checked his M6CP in the holster, and finally the SMG he had clipped to his vest. His combat knife was strapped to his right leg, and an M90 was slung over his backpack. Jack looked similar, although his rifle wasequipped with a grenade launcher underslung, and a sniper rifle strapped to his back. "Hopefully… we'll stop a major shift in the balance of power… and a very big mistake…"

(So Jack is a comrade now, and I had him in my head long before Garrett was in the story. The reflection thingy I got from Metal Gear Solid 2, but it just seemed too powerful to ignore all attacks without running out of juice in such a small package. I'd rather it be at least somewhat realistic I know it isn't THAT realistic in terms of such a small package doing that for a large mass, but it still works. OH! And one more thing. For all those people who think Ilana is just some shy A.I. Who is in love who can't do much aside from fly the ship and ferry Garrett around, you are in for an interesting surprise!")


	24. Welcoming Party

Garrett jumped from the wreckage of the destroyed pelican. It didn't take long for the A.I.s nearby to sift through the fake IFF codes Ilana sent to them. A flight of Longswords were sent in to take out the intruder, but Garrett managed to land (crash upside down) in a forest with a lake. Jack and Garrett had luckily had a plan B, and engaged the portable black inflatable boat. They clambered aboard with as much gear as they could. They were only missing a few grenades and an extra clip for an SMG, so they would be fine. They sped toward the edge of the lake and jumped clean, running toward the edge of the forest as fast as they could. Forest is fortunately an understatement, as the trees were so large and so entangled that it was almost like a jungle. Garrett leapt toward the roots of a nearby tree that had not gained a base hold to the ground, and had an empty area under the tree. Jack jumped into the hollow of a tree, pressing himself as much as he could into the middle. Three flights made their rounds near the forest, and found the wreckage. They would send recon troops here very soon. Garrett dropped three special vials Maya happened to be keeping around onto the ceiling of the pelican before they left that were filled with large amounts of replicated blood. If anyone tries to find out if they were dead or alive, the amount of blood left behind would show that they bled to death after exiting the craft, and sank to the bottom.  
Garrett engaged his Active Camo and Jack did the same. They could see each other fairly well with the green outlining they had of their bodies in the HUD of their goggles. They made their way at a brisk pace to an entrance heading down. The entrance, a massive bulkhead door, turrets on either side, and tanks everywhere. Troops ran around left and right, and sergeants barked orders. Garrett popped his goggles off and brought his binoculars up. The goggles were useful for just about everything, but the binoculars still had a crisper image given than the graphically enhanced goggles. Jack held still laying next to him, watching the surrounding tanks.  
"Do those look like standard UNSC marines to you?" Garrett asked Jack as he handed the binoculars to him. Jack checked the insignia on the fatigues, as well as the colors. "Spec Ops…Research Incursion Administration? Never heard of them…" Garrett checked ranks and the numbers of officers. Maya popped in on the com channels. "I expected you guys wouldn't. They seem to be controlled by a country in the northeast of your Earth." Garrett thought for a moment. "Wait… the European Directorate? Is it them?" He asked. "You guessed it." _Shit. Last time I checked, the French were actually putting out some pretty impressive command officers, and their snipers are nothing to scoff at right now…_ Jack watched the patrols carefully, looking for openings that would allow them to slip in hopefully without using the ACs and popping up on anybody's IR goggles… if anyone was wearing them. The timing they had landed was close to the sun setting, and if they didn't hurry up, they would definitely be caught. Garrett sighted an opening and showed the area with hand signals to Jack. He acknowledged and moved. "Are you guys still there?" Maya asked. Both of them turned off their com links. "Well, how rude."

The Arbiter stood with his back against the wall of the human building. The elites that were with him were Ultras, and trained by him. They were prepared for any threat and any ambush that could arise. The things that kept that a secret was they were wearing Spec Ops armor. The Elites had Split away from the Covenant, calling themselves the Trinity. The Trinity was comprised of elites, hunters, and grunts. The brutes and remainder of troops that stayed with the prophets were now their truest enemy, and the humans new that. That is why the humans have offered negotiations, in understanding of being used by the prophets and gaining a potential ally. The Arbiter had been studying the politics of humans for the past week to act as an ambassador to the Admirals, Generals and leaders of the humans. Almost all were weak spineless men who just wanted something strong to hide behind. He scowled at the small beings moving into the council room. Spartans were lined up along the other wall ready for a fight. Their olive green armor shined, and they were completely still. His mind was still on past events however. He thought back to the communications he received involving the planet that had an ancient artifact on it, one that a rogue human had gained control over. It troubled him in the fact that the ships and troops stationed there under the covenant's command did not report in at all to anyone outside the solar system. Perhaps they were running a special mission and could not give out any signs that they were still there, or the humans would think to recapture the planet. He couldn't believe that the Elites and grunts and hunters stationed there were never told of the breakup of the covenant. Once the information was given, all of the elites, grunts, and hunters attacked the brutes on the ships and took control over them. The jackals seemed to mostly stay out of the fight, waiting for a victor.

The Arbiter crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head to loosen his neck. He'd been standing there for half an hour, being on time as he was suppose to be. The humans offered him a seat, but all the chairs were uncomfortable to him, and besides, he was a warrior. If the Spartans could stand at attention til doomsday, then he was not going to do any less. He didn't have as much hatred for them now though. He in some ways respected them. They were fighting to protect the humans, and pledged an oath of loyalty to uphold their orders and finish their missions, similar to the Elites. A few Ultra grunts were taking the time to sleep, and just woke up. A pair of hunters stood in the corner, somewhat out of the lights. The humans sat in the seats around a long U shaped table, each with a glass of water in front of them and what looked like a communications speaker near all. Three of the humans were spectators, two of them being Commander Miranda Keyes and Sergeant A.J. Johnson. He relaxed slightly. The trip to get them home had given him time to learn about humanity from them from their point of view, so it was more comfortable with them in the room. The third was a woman with glasses, and when she entered, the Spartans seemed to slightly turn their heads. She even acknowledged them and asked a few some questions. Whoever she was, she definitely had some connection to the super soldiers. "It is good to finally meet with you, Arbiter. Shall we get to discussion?" An Admiral, Lord Hood said. "I'm listening, human, but don't expect much. There is precious little you have to offer in these negotiations for us to want to ally ourselves with you."

Meanwhile

"Major, Spartan 117, have you anything to say to these allegations?" a commander stated inside the courtroom. The Major was being almost court-martialed for letting Garrett escape. The brass was acknowledging this mistake by checking on just about every Spartan that was on that mission. They had finally come to a conclusion. The Major said nothing. "Well then, by the power invested in me by the UNSC command and judiciary system, I hereby provide these black marks on your record. You have been found almost traitorous in this court, and since the standard legal rules do not apply to Spartans, the best I can do to you is demote you to the rank of Master Chief. This will be official in one hour. The court is dismissed." Spartan 117 stood at attention then was escorted outside, where an MP took the ranking symbols from his shoulders and chest and placed the original markings of his past rank. They escorted him to a door where a car was waiting to pick him up. He seemed comfortable now, despite having been demoted for doing something wrong. He had always been careful about what he had done, but now… How would the other Spartans see him? Would he lose face? Or would another be promoted above him? He really didn't care if another Spartan was his commander. He had been in command of the Spartans since the beginning, so he believed it was his time to give up the throne. He was driven to a shuttle port where he would be lifted off to their next mission. When the car stopped John stepped out to find something he didn't expect.  
Row after row of Spartans stood at attention in front of the shuttle. They looked straight ahead, not moving an inch. He walked by them as the car drove away and gained an acknowledgement from Marie. "Sir, permission to speak freely sir." He granted it. "Sir, we would have done the same. It's good to have the Master Chief back sir!" And with that, all the Spartans saluted. To them, the newest Spartans, to accompany the last of the first batch of Spartans, was an honor. He was a legend in its purest form. He knew that they would follow him to hell and back if he asked it. He simply tightened his jaw and nodded, then entered the shuttle. The rest of the Spartans entered as well and took their seats.

Garrett was becoming sick to his stomach. Both he and Jack were hiding up in the steel rafters above a laboratory, and in cryo tubes were something he didn't expect to be here. In each tube was a flood combat form, all being humanoid, and all being tested on. The tentacles on the arms still didn't stop moving despite the cold around them, and continued to probe the inside of the tube. He kept his rifle trained on the tubes, and not on the guards nearby. Two scientists opened up a tube and had two large guards grab the combat form and strap it to a dissection table. They began to probe the body with tools and take skin samples, but largely left her unscathed. The female flood was stripped naked, not that she cared now. "Cardiovascular system has increased ten fold. Brain waves seem to be different from previous checked, all other systems seem to be starting to become inactive. Best of luck next time…" the scientist sighed. He placed his pad on the table and left the room, followed by the second scientist two minutes later. The flood was left on the table, strapped and helpless. The six guards kept near the two doors, afraid that the combat form would break through the cable straps and attack them. Jack motioned Garrett toward another vent opening, and they quietly slipped through. As Jack left the area, he heard a whisper. It was faint, but it wasn't someone talking. _Please! Don't! NO!_ was what he heard, echoing in his head. He turned around and stared back down at the combat form. It was motionless, but he still sensed something. Garrett switched to a secure com channel. "What's up? Something wrong?" He asked. "I think… never mind. It was nothing." They started to continue through the vents when Jack heard the voice again in his head. "Okay, I'm not imagining that." Garrett tilted his head. "I think… I think I could hear that woman's voice, in my head, or at least her thoughts…" he whispered. "Hive connection so to speak probably. You probably have a sense of her being nearby. What… you want to save her?" He asked quizzically. "Maybe. Can we?" He asked. "Beats the crap out of me. I honestly still can't figure out how you broke away from the flood. For her to do the same thing… She'd have to do something odd as well."  
Jack sat there for a moment before turning around and heading back to the lab. Garrett sighed and followed. They reached the room and silently dropped to the ground. They hit their AC on and moved towards the guards. At that moment, The combat form started to wrestle against the restraints, sensing Jack nearby. The guards raised their weapons at the form and moved slowly toward it. Garrett followed behind two of them, while Jack followed another two. The last two stayed at the doors. As they reached the woman, she started to pull away from the table, trying not to attack, but break away. Garrett realized this could be a problem if the guards realized she was sensing someone else, so he blocked her sense of Jack with his psionics. She suddenly became confused, wondering why she couldn't sense him anymore, and instead altered where she was staring to where Garrett was. She stopped fighting against the straps and became quite docile. Her blonde hair was matted with sweat and cryo tube solution, and if it wasn't for the hideous disfiguring of the flood, she could almost be called pretty. Her arms seemed to have the worst of the disfigurement, and also the strength. Garrett didn't have time to waste here. He jumped a guard from behind and slit his throat, then Jack grabbed another and snapped his neck. The other two guards were shocked to see their comrades die without anything attack them, and jumped back to find a bullet tear through both chests. The last two guards brought their weapons to bear and one was about to hit the alarm when a knife flew through the air from Garrett's hand to impale in his neck. The last guard fumbled for the key card that would allow him exit of the room, and Jack leapt toward him in one swift move. He brought his rifle butt down on his neck and heard a snap. The guard crumbled, and they returned to the scene in the middle.

"Well, we did something, so hurry up" Garrett said. "Do what? I don't know what to do." Garrett stared at Jack for a second. "We just did this all for nothing? Well… you can hear her voice in your head, so try doing the same to her." Jack tried to concentrate, trying to focus on hearing her speak again. _Please! AH! I can't remember…_ Jack heard her voice in his head again. He concentrated harder, trying to think of a way to speak back. _**Hey! I can hear you! I'm here to help! The only way to stop the thing is to think something up involving pain and destruction! Toward the flood I mean! Pain, destruction, something that is a thought of the thing inside you dying! **Who are you? How… **Just do it! That was the only thing I could do against the thing myself! You want to die here andlet that thing strip you of who you are?!**Alright…_She was silent for a long time, too long in fact. _I did it! I can't hear or sense the other presence anymore! **Good! Now what is exactly going on? What's happening here? Who are you?**_


	25. Love Forsaken

That was all he could say to her before her body functions failed. She convulsed, straining against the straps. _I… It… hurts… help me…_She stared at Jack as she convulsed, his active camo off, as he tried to figure out a way to help her. It was too late. She cried tears at the pain, then suddenly went limp, her dying breath heard by both men. Jack opened his mouth for a second, then closed it, his own eyes slightly watering before drying up. He walked closer, looked around for her dog tags still on her throat, and pulled. He heard them snap off, and checked the name. Morgan, Fionna, Corporal, 107th company, 753-975-593. Jack closed her eyes, then gripped his rifle tighter. "Let's do this" He whispered. Garrett felt the same. Garrett pulled the security card from the hand of the dead guard and swiped it, then realized that there was an id pin number to enter. He cursed, and Jack pulled out a ICE-pick.  
Garrett and Jack moved swiftly down some hallways, checking around corners with fiber optic cables and a few ball probes and sticky cameras. They mostly found guards that seemed to be changing shifts, a few were off duty and entering their quarters. The place was antiseptically clean, too clean, with white walls and white lights. Garrett and Jack rushed into a storage closet before settling in. Garrett clicked on his PDA and checked the schematics of the place that Ilana had managed to pilfer from the A.I. Intrusion software that tried to catch her. It was impressive that she could hold off some of the best anti intrusion software the human race could make. There was only one other A.I. That could attempt something like that and Spartan-117 carried her around. He located a server vault, found the lock pathways, and checked for any openings inside other than the front door. They found one, but it was a heat dispensing vent, that could turn both men into crispy critters if they didn't move quickly and keep their shields on. They winked their acknowledgement lights to each other, then moved towards the door. At that moment, the door to the closet opened, and an officer suddenly became shocked, as did Garrett and Jack. "What the… What are…" and Jack shot out a kick to his stomach, making the officerdouble over and Jack grabbed him and pulled him in. He then knocked the guy out and peeked outside to check if anyone saw the scene. No one was around. He closed the door, and both men checked the body for anything useful. The sidearm was an M6D, better than what Garrett and Jack were carrying, but more annoying to keep functional, not to mention it wasn't a hybrid. There were a few medals, nothing extraordinary, and an I.D. pass card. It was a Colonel that they had just clocked cold, and they had a pass card that could potentially let them into most areas.

Garrett and Jack moved out of the closet, making sure to lock the door afterward. They checked their motion trackers on their goggle HUDs, making damn sure that nothing was moving toward them. Garrett went so far as to activate a BRS, allowing him to check through walls for anything living, see what they were doing, and even check medical stats. They moved around a corner to come to a Garage entrance. They had to get to a vehicle, or at least hitch a ride on someone else's vehicle before they would be at the vault entrance. As they entered, an alarm system went off and the entire base went on alert. "Security on full alert! Security on full alert! The experiments have broken out! Security stations on L1 load out! Engage to contain and destroy!" Garrett and Jack ran behind a group of Warthogs, hiding where they could, using their active camo where they couldn't. The guards nearby readied their weapons and prepared for the flood. Some of the troops were equipped with MA5Bs, and others had flamethrowers. One of the doors was being broken open, bent in, arms with tentacles pushing out. The soldiers started to unload into the openings, tearing apart the doors that were actually keeping the flood at bay. Garrett and Jack didn't waste any time. They jumped into a Warthog with a chain gun and hauled, the keys actually left inside the vehicle. The soldiers around them didn't have time to check who it was, simply fired at the openings as the first flood jumped out. Garrett and Jack drove at full speed, Jack manning the turret as Garrett turned onto the road they wanted. The big wheels of the LRV rumbled over the rocks and onto the pavement, the engine pushed to full.

A tank suddenly pulled out in front of the warthog, completely oblivious to the small vehicle's shape as it started to unload onto another tank, which happened to be in control of the flood. Garrett fishtailed, got the back wheel to grip at the last second and swerved around the tank as it fired off another deafening shot. Jack was actually afraid. The fact that the flood experiments could break out and infest the area so quickly was worrying him. Some flood infection forms started to crawl along the ground nearby, Garrett either running them over or Jack letting loose with the high caliber jungle mower, ripping holes into the road along with popping the little zits.  
Garrett turned onto a large bridge, reminiscent of the golden gate bridge on Earth. He gunned the gas pedal, pushing the four wheeled vehicle to its maximum speed, weaving around destroyed tanks and turrets as the fights broke out.  
Garrett was halfway across the bridge when a distinct sound was heard nearby. Duel engines were heard as multiple sky hawks and long swords flew in, getting ready for an air strike. Jack watched in horror as three missiles from each fighter lanced out and streaked toward the bridge. Garrett was suddenly jumped by a combat form, the tentacled arms grappling him and pulling his arms on the wheel. The warthog turned sharply, rolled the vehicle in a 360 barrel roll, then had the wheels catch again and the movement slow as the warthog started toward the side. Garrett punched at the combat form, having it do little good, and was attacked in return. The personal shield helped, but he still felt the pushing effects of the arms. The combat form got close, in a way screaming its repulsive face at him. He hit it again, knocking the thing back enough for Jack to swivel the turret around and knock the combat form off, allowing Garrett to regain control. The missiles streaked in, two seconds away from making contact with their target. Garrett turned the wheel sharply again, the warthog swerving, and rolling yet again, this time very close to the edge of the bridge. Down below, 150 feet, was a river, rushing with heavy rapids and rocks. The missiles hit, fire and destruction washing across the flat man made connection between the two pieces of land.

"NO!" Ilana screamed as she watched the view screen. The missiles destroyed the bridge, blowing parts off as the critical spots they hit allowed structural damage, making the bridge collapse on itself. The ensuing fireball devastated most things around it. She fell back into a chair, watching the scene. Maya watched her, sympathy starting to appear. "Area contained. The experiments are being pushed back. Sterilize the area" was heard over the tapped com channels. Ilana didn't move for a little while. Maya walked up to her, Ilana's face hidden under her bangs. "Ilana… I… He new the risks…" She was cut off by Ilana. "No… words… No words… gone… pain… so much pain… I will show pain!" She looked up, a fire in her eyes. Maya tried to settle her down, but a force field suddenly separated them and Maya was forced back by the field to the bridge transporter, and transported down into the rest of the ship. Ilana decloaked the ship. "What the… sir! There's a ship that just decloaked nearby! It's the forerunner ship! Their…" And the transmission was cut with a Tri-focus plasma beam destroying the cruiser sending out the signal. "Holy Shit! All ships! Open-" and the second ship was torn apart. The fleet tried to attack, but all the weapons at their disposal, including three orbital MAC guns, were ignored by the defenses of the ship. The Nexus annihilated every single ship there was, cutting apart the flagship, the _Executor_, in two. Pelicans and life pods launched from most of the ships that could still launch them, and those were systematically destroyed by the point defense weapons. A NOVA, still in prototype phase was suddenly launched at the ship. Ilana was too busy destroying the surroundings that she didn't notice the missile launched at her, or maybe she didn't care. The missile hit, somewhat close to the planet, and pulsated out, waving through the atmosphere and causing weather reactions all around the side of the planet she was near. They weren't even that close. The main force as in actuality near the two moons, but the blast was large enough to cause effects that tore apart pieces of the second moon. When the blast finished, the fire fell away, the forerunner ship… was still there. The shields and armor on board scanned the blast and it's effects the microsecond it detonated, and adapted to compensate for its effects. The ship's shields were heavily lowered, and the armor groaned under the blast, but otherwise it was unharmed. Ilana seethed with anger, tears falling down her cheeks. She would never see Garrett again, never hear his voice, never help him achieve the things which he believed were right, and never, never, be able to tell him about her feelings for him…


	26. Feign Death

Garrett awoke with his head hurting like crazy. His eyelids slowly opened and he heard water rushing around him. His eyes fully opened and he snapped his right hand to his forehead. He felt something wet that wasn't water. He ignored the blood for that moment and looked to his right groggily to suddenly have his eyes snap wide open and stare in surprise. There, in the passenger seat of the wrecked warthog he was in, was a large sharp stalagmite shoved straight through the bottom of the vehicle. He looked backward to find Jack draped over the damaged turret. He checked his neck for a pulse. He sighed. "Jack, wake up!" Jack stirred slightly. "Wake up Marine!" Jack snapped queasily to life, uttering "Yes sir! Sergeant sir!" In a pubescent cracking voice. "Snap out of it! Are you alright?" Jack checked what the situation was and where he was twice, then uttered something Garrett couldn't hear. "What was that? I can't hear you." Jack responded again. "I'm fine, but oh man… my head…" He put his left hand to his temples and massaged them. Garrett remembered what had happened. The missiles hitting the bridge, the explosion, and before they could be toast, Garrett used a special psionic ability he had learned. Rupture Shield was what it was called, and it temporarily made the being using it invincible to all outside damage for a certain period of time. Unfortunately for Garrett and Jack, Garrett was fairly rusty with his abilities, so that time was roughly one second. The side effects, however, were it protected only against damage, not against movement physics, specifically, if an outside force acts against an object in a specific direction, that object will probably move in that direction, most notably the warthog blown off the bridge. The other side effect is that the Shield will nullify all sensors or beacons of a life form being there for about a week, which could be an advantage against the enemy, and a disadvantage if friendlies tried to find him, like Ilana.

Garrett could smell gas running from the warthog, and sparks were popping from broken electronics. "Jack, we have to move! Let's get out of this thing!" Jack cleared his head as Garrett groggily leapt from the vehicle to find himself rushed away from the vehicle in the river. Jack heard a yelp, saw Garrett get rushed away, and grumbled, then leapt as well. He remembered to grab the packs before he did so, however, although they had lost some of their explosives, most notably the mines and C20. "YAAHHHH!" Jack yelled as he struggled to keep above the water. Garrett swirled around, trying to keep facing in one direction. He slammed into a rock from behind, flipped around, and wacked into another. His shoulder hurt a lot, but the armor dulled the damage. He was suddenly pulled under and down a small waterfall, to land in a lake below. The water dulled somewhat, and Garrett swam upward.

Garrett looked around at the top for the edge, found it was closer than he expected, and struggled to swim to the side with the gear he had. He eventually found grounding under his feet, and stomped slowly to the land nearby. Jack soon followed, although the gear he was carrying dropped him to the bottom like a rock. Jack held his breath long enough to the drop the packs in the lake and swim to shore. "You alright?" Garrett gasped as he struggled for more air. "Just peachy." Garrett Bent over and coughed a few times, water dripping from him. His shoes were filled with water, and his socks were soggily irritating him. "Where's the stuff?" Garrett asked. "At the bottom. We'll get it later. Rest time for a sec?" Jack asked. "Ah… uh… yah… why not…" Garrett said as both collapsed onto the ground and panted. "Huh… that… that really hurt… I hate rocks… I really do… especially the big ones…" Garrett said. "Yah… but the water wasn't too… friendly either… was it?" Jack said. "Nope. It wasn't."

Garrett looked around, hearing explosions in the distance. "Well… from the looks of things… we may be close to the server main station. Assuming they… haven't evacuated just yet, and erased the data or copied it, we may be able to finish this mission." Jack looked around at the trees. "Okay… but how do we get off this place?" He asked. "Ilana, do you read me?" Garrett asked into his ear piece. It squealed heavily, Garrett ripping it from his ear. "Damn… broken… real cliché…" he said. He looked at Jack, who agreed as he pulled his own ear piece away, the thing sputtering and glitching. "Time to move?" Jack asked. Garrett sighed. "Yah…" And he got up and dove into the water, pulling the packs off the bottom and swimming back. "Let's move."

Ilana watched the fleet futiley attack her as she decimated the battle groups. They would pay for doing what they had done, and she was going to tear them apart. She checked the secondary shields to make sure they were in full operating performance, switched them on and swapped the primaries so that they could recharge. After the Nova strike, the primary shield was heavily lowered, making her actually consider the humans here a threat. She only hoped that they didn't have another one of those bombs to use against her. Nevertheless, if she died, at least she could be with someone else she believed to be in the underworld. She continued to rain hell upon the fleet, and didn't notice the evacuation ships on the ground. It would be another twenty minutes before they could leave, and the battle fleet above was doing everything it could to hold her off. Mines were being detonated around her, and fighters were launching anything and everything, doing little to no effect. The MAC platforms were launching heavy rounds once every ten seconds, trying desperately to take down the shields. Ilana was emotionless at the time, however, and didn't care how much death she dealt. She was quite cold and heartless at that moment, her heart trying to find the one she cared about. She targeted five more frigates. "Targets locked" she mumbled to herself in a cold voice, her eyes reddened and dead. There was no sparkle, no cheerfulness, just pain and suffering, something she intended to deliver to her targets…

Garrett climbed up the cliff with his gear, wiggling up over the side with Jack close behind. He huffed as they reach the top, yet again, and stared. There, before their eyes, was the biggest City Dome they had ever seen. It was easily fifty miles across, and roughly one mile high. Garrett's eyes bulged. "Well, let's find the main access points into the server stations." Garrett ran toward the thing, Jack in tow, hearing gun fire and explosions somewhat nearby. Garrett activated the active camo only to find the thing malfunction and have him flicker in and out of visibility. "Shit… this thing's busted too…" He grumbled, and continued to run. As they just reached an entrance, a flood combat form jumped into view, a rocket launcher in hand. "Get down!" Garrett yelled as it fired a rocket straight at them. Garrett leapt to the left, Jack dropping to the ground where he was. The rocket flew right over Jack's head, and Garrett unloaded burst after burst from his BR55P, while Jack hosed it with SMG fire. The thing buckled and collapsed from the spray, firing a rocket straight into the air. Garrett let go of the breath he didn't realize he had been holding, Jack slowly standing up, keeping his uzi checked on the body. The thing twitched slightly, then stopped moving. Garrett stood up as well, walking slowly toward where the rocket launcher was laying. It was empty, but an extra case was nearby, giving two rockets to use. He picked it up and Jack walked over. "Let's get inside and get this shit over with… now!" He yelled as Jack nodded.

They both ran toward the dome, Garrett bringing the rocket launcher to bear on the bulkhead door. He saw a soldier running backward as two flood forms jumped him, ripping his left arm off and punching a hand through his chest just as he pulled a grenade, blowing the ball of bodies into pieces in another second. Garrett fired a rocket at the door, blowing a hole into it that was fairly small. He fired the next rocket, making the hole wider. He dropped the rocket launcher and primed a grenade in one fell move, throwing it into the hole and pulling the pin at the same time. The grenade flew in, blew, and screams were heard on the other side. They leapt through and checked for more targets. Two soldiers were still alive, but the smoke from the blast kept them from firing. Garrett took advantage of that and fired two quick bursts, a head shot on one and a neck shot on another. The area quieted down somewhat, but gunfire was heard just down the hallway. "Which way?" Jack asked. Garrett checked his PDA, and it showed the map towards the server room, slightly glitching in the transmission. He hit it a few times, and it fixed the display slightly. "Right down this hall. What luck… We're nearby. About a quarter of a click from here." Garrett and Jack moved down the hallway carefully, keeping their guns ready, a rifle in one and a shotgun in another.

They eventually made it to the server rooms after three battles with flood, one of them causing Garrett to block with a phase wall to keep them at bay long enough to prime a concussion grenade. They entered and checked for hostiles. Fortunately for them, the battle in the area was already over, as the place was littered with bodies, some scientists, some soldiers, mostly flood. Broken display terminals were all over, and pipes and walls were smashed. "there" Garrett said as he found a terminal in working order. He snapped his PDA to the terminal and downloaded everything, popping in new MO crystals when one was full. The entire process took five minutes, the longest five minutes he had ever felt. The download was complete, and the PDA was holding up. He pulled all the crystals just to be safe, and nodded to Jack. "We got it. And it doesn't look good. They've found out a way to isolate the weapon targeting systems on a halo and condense the blast into a pocket beam, allowing them to pinpoint targets… or planets. They'd be considered heroes if they took out the covenant, or they could hold us ransom if we didn't like them controlling some big weapon. A new government could then be appointed." Garrett said. "Death by covenant, or controlled by megalomaniacs." Jack groaned. "What about the flood soldiers?" Jack asked. "Useful for controlling the halos, not to mention if fixed, would be a force to be reckoned with, even against Spartans." Garrett got up and put his PDA in his pocket. "And they're damned close. I'd say maybe another couple of hours and they might have gotten a break through with all of them. So far, they seem to have control over about a few hundred, which they are loading onto transport assault carriers. The rest, as we've seen, are rampaging. At least they did the job of killing the scientists for us, but I think they already copied the research. There's a second duplication report popping up. We have to stop this and get that copy back."

Jack nodded and both of them ran out of the room to come smack dab in front of a group of flood. "Shit!" Jack yelled as he fired the preloaded grenade launcher almost at point blank. Garrett grabbed him and leapt as the grenade flew forward then blew, Garrett pulling back into the server room. He looked around for another exit, sighted a maintenance elevator, and rushed toward it. Jack fired burst after burst as he retreated toward Garrett and the elevator, Garrett closing the door right as a tentacled hand shot through to attack him and Jack. "Shit!" Jack yelled as he fire a point blank burst from hisrifle that he swapped with Garrettinto the arm. The arm was cut off because of the elevator door, but it was still wiggling and writhing. The cargo elevator started to go up, not exactly where Garrett had planned it to go. "Wait a minute… why… what the hell?" He said as he checked the controls, which he soon realized to be malfunctioning, as well as the sign next to it saying "Out of order. Maintenance on Thursday." "What's today?" Garrett asked Jack. "Tuesday" He replied confused. "Just checking" He said as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened and both men had their weapons up and ready. A huge battle seemed to be going on, and it was all on the roof of a large building they had been in. The soldiers were fortunate enough to have had a Pelican drop a tank on the top as well as crash land because of flood jumping into the back.

Garrett inched through, firing shell after shell into the area and dropping grenades where he could. Jack emptied three clips lightning quick from his BR55P and switched to the SMG because it seemed to have more of an effect against the mass of tentacles and troops. "Jack, pull in for the Pelican. We may be able to get out of here."

Ilana detected multiple jump coordinates being locked in from escape ships on the ground as well as in orbit, but she seemed to be too occupied with annihilating the battle forces in orbit. She didn't have to worry; she would find them later and finish her revenge. She did seem to hear some interesting com chatter coming from a small shipyard however. "This is security station one to all troops! We have boarders! Somehow the experiments got on board! Lock down all systems! Engage auto defense systems! Keep them at bay!" "We have a malfunction! The experiments hit the connection grid for locking down the ship in bay 2B! She's drifting out!" "Anybody on board!" "Negative! No crew yet! We gotta get it back!" Ilana smiled. _One less escape vessel to hunt down_ she thought. She quickly realized her mistake of not destroying the shipyards nearby, as a MAC round tore through space that seemed to be charged with an inverted Soliton field. It wasn't much, but it could actually lower her shields. _Well, these dogs can actually defend themselves. Intriguing. I wish Garrett could have gotten a chance to defend himself against that missile…_ she thought, her lower lip trembled slightly. She immediately fired a salvo of anionic warheads towards the shipyards and then thought nothing about it anymore. The missiles hit, and plumes of debris appeared where they were. The empty ship floated away slowly, seeming to not be touched by the explosions, as if it cared. She finished the last ship that could fight her off, and noticed all of the escape vessels had left. _They would leave most of their troops groundside to die against the flood? How truly monstrous._ She checked her list of coordinates, watched for a strike pattern to move through all the targets in a single line, and jumped the ship. _Checking my list… checking it twice… going to see whose naughty or nice…_ she thought. She always enjoyed the idea of the Christmas holiday that humans had, but she never would be able to celebrate it cheerfully now. Not ever.

Garrett and Jack thinned out the group fighting and Jack managed to take a Gauss Warthog from the enemy, which he pulled toward the Pelican. The remainder tried to rush the Pelican, but Jack kept them at bay while Garrett checked the systems. The group was finally finished off, for now. "Is it working? Come on! Hurry up! We gotta get out of here before these bastards realized we're up here! Or maybe the flood want to say hello again!" Jack yelled. Garrett pressed a few buttons, found a map nearby of the dome, and got the Pelican to whine to life. "Hey, what do you know! It's a fully loaded assault Pelican! Jack! Inside now!" Jack jumped from the warthog and ran, only to find that the Pelican didn't have the traditional machine gun mounted in the back, but a gauss cannon. Twin rocket pods were on each wing, and the chin gun was double barreled. What seemed very odd was two ghosts cargo mounted under the wings as well as in interesting looking carriages. _Damn Scavengers_ he thought to himself. Jack climbed aboard and the craft lifted off. Garrett maneuvered the Pelican around a little bit to shake off any debris around, then noticed a squad of skyhawks heading toward them. "OH SHIT!" Jack yelled as Garrett dove between the buildings. He piloted like a pro, even further than anyone could push the thing. Jack stumbled back towards the gauss turret in the back and strapped himself into a harness, then manned the turret and fired behind. Garrett suddenly flew parallel with a building, and a skyhawk smashed its wing into the side. Garrett barrel rolled and suddenly flipped backwards, bringing the thrusters on the tail down and right onto a passing skyhawk's cockpit. The exhaust shattered the windshield and fried the pilot, then Garrett shot straight up, flipped again, and dropped the Pelican like a brick straight down, three skyhawks right behind him. The Pelican's chin gun roared to life in a vertical line, and the skyhawks were almost cut down the middle, aside from the last which lost its left wing. The Pelican strained under the maneuvers and idiot warning lights flickered all around Garrett. Jack was being tumbled around in back, but still got off a few shots.

The Pelican was close to the ground when Garrett pulled all thrusters to maximum to stop the drop, and spun the craft over the ground, burning quite a few infantry he didn't know were there. He pushed the ship around a corner to find anti-air missiles launch right at him. _Anti-air…_ he thought and engaged the landing gear and dropped the pelican to the ground, driving it forward like a warthog. The missiles didn't get a chance to compensate and flew right over him. He fired his own rockets to take down the grouping of turrets there, each rocket made to count. The pods were now empty, and he could easily eject them. What he noticed next were two Scorpions firing as fast as they could at a rushing group of flood. He boosted straight over them, ejected the pods right over them, and as one fired, the pod in a stroke of luck fell right in front of the cannon barrel. The explosive round hit, blew, and knocked the turret clean off, to cartwheel through the air and smash into the other tank, smashing in the cockpit. "Nice flying. Stop the world I'd like to get off now" Jack moaned in the back as he tried to keep his lunch in.

Garrett looked for an exit from the dome, found one, and shot the Pelican straight through as the emergency doors closed. He lifted the ship up and towards orbit. Both pods that carried the ghost snapped clean off, and suddenly gave the Pelican a push upward from less weight, making Garrett struggle to keep her steady. They eventually cleared the atmosphere to find death everywhere. Ships destroyed all over, bodies floating in space, all flash frozen, and debris was starting to become a concern. He then wondered where Ilana was, and found that the Nexus was nowhere in sight. "Crap! What the hell did she do!" He grumbled to himself as Jack got back into the cockpit. "Whoa… I thought we were suppose to go in ala stealth? What brought this on?" He stared at the shambles around him. A body bounced off the windshield, blonde hair, female, her dogtags floating around her neck. An arm was held onto her left hand, holding on for dear life, but no body was connected to it. "Shit… are we stuck here?" Garrett asked. "Ilana. This is Garrett. Can you read me?" He asked into the communications systems. Nothing responded back. "Well, we can't go back, and I pretty much knocked our fuel down to fumes with those maneuvers, so unless we find someone to pick us up, we're hosed." Jack sighed, already knowing that no one would come to find them, unless they were going to destroy the pelican. The flood would eventually find its way to the other pelicans, if the troops didn't sabotage all of the vehicles to stop them. At that moment, an explosion was seen on the planet that was quite large. "Was that… no way… a self destruct?" Jack said in disbelief. "Wow… hang on… I've got a beacon. It's a frigate, and brand new… no crew?" He more asked then explained as he checked the scanners. "Are you kidding me? No one on board?" Jack asked. "Ya… um…" Garrett became confused. "Let's bag it" Jack said suddenly. "Are you nuts!" Garrett yelped. "Hey, we're almost out of fuel, no backup to pick us up right now, might as well grab it." Garrett rolled his eyes up and closed them tight. "First off, two crew members is not very sufficient for a frigate ship. I can pilot, and you maybe able to fire the weapons, but no one controlling locks and maintenance systems will have us making a popcorn imitation from spatial decompression." Jack stretched. "So what? We still have a fighting chance. You have a better idea?"

Garrett mumbled something, then shrugged. He maneuvered the small craft under the ship and engaged lock down procedures to enter the ship. The bay doors automatically opened with the crack decryption systems Garrett had, and Auron interfaced with the ship. "Glad to see we might have three people working this thing's innards" Garrett chuckled as Auron brought all systems online. "This thing is completely empty. It's equipped… but was still barely in launch phase" Garrett said. "Jesus. You'd expect at least maintenance crews or a skeleton crew to be on this thing huh?" Jack asked. "As I said, something is weird about this. Maybe they were groundside at the time?" Garrett said. "Yah… maybe… Alright. Fire control is warmed up, archer pods are green, and… DAMN! This thing actually has a MAC gun on the front! It's a light rounder, but still…" Jack became estatic. "Main engines are cleared, thrusters on pull lock 3, alright Auron, standby for burn…" Garrett said. "Acknowledged. Main engines on. Clearing engine tubes 2-9. All systems on full." The engines could be heard throughout the ship, and the loud whine as they charged up then lowered to idle woke both men up. "Alright. Now what do we do?" Garrett asked. "Well, let's find out where Ilana went. After all, the info you gave me about her not seeing us with that psi ability you did means she might think we're dead." Garrett's eyes widened. _So that must be why she obliterated the fleet here. She thought we bought the farm._ "Auron, do you have a signal lock on where she might have gone?" He asked. "Acknowledged. She is following a group of escaping ships toward these coordinates…" And the coordinates were displayed on a holoscreen. "Holy… these are… Fuck me…" Garrett said and keyed in the coordinates. It would take them about six hours from their present position to get to the area, and that place was Earth.


	27. Welcome Home

Ok, sorry for the huge wait, I found out some really bad news when I said I'd put my 2 chapters up last week. they got fizzled up, somehow corrupted in one form or another, I didn't wanna find out how, just somehow reclaim some of the typing I lost. Sadly, you're only getting 1 chapter up this time until I can retype the next one (it's too confusing to put up right now, it's all mumbo jumbo T.T) anyways, here's a new chapter I may have to alter a bit later, enjoy!

"Garrett, we got a problem" Jack said as he sat hunched under the communications station. "Please don't say that, I hate when people say that, I've got enough problems, why can't I ever just get a minor inconvenience?" Garrett grumbled. "Ok, it's a minor inconvenience, one in which may get us shot at by friendlies." Garrett sighed, and then asked what he was talking about. "The communications station is half rigged, and our IFF? Not installed. We're effectively a big blip on EVERYONE'S sensors."

Garrett turned around to see Jack was playing around with wiring under the station's control panels. "You break it you buy it" Garrett said as he altered coordinates to follow Ilana's path. It was getting worse by the minute. Every sector they past through, sensors picked up destroyed fleets. Ilana was carving a way straight through UNSC space to tear apart the evac ships.

"I swear this is not good at all" Garrett said as he swapped primary generators to secondary and synced them to the fusion reactor. "Well, you gotta admit, she seems to hate letting hostiles get away." "That's not what I'm referring to. LOOK at where she's going!" Jack checked on a panel near his head as he had circuits placed on his chest. "Well, ya, but, she'll get em in the end, then we just leave."

Garrett was trying to stay calm, but it was adding up. "No, I don't quite think you understand. What is she doing to get to where she's going? She's carving a path, that's what, straight through our space. That means all the fleets between that colony and Earth are going to be decimated, don't you think that leaves quite a big hole straight through our defenses?" Jack pulled out from the panel he was working on. "Oh shit" was all he could say. "Yep, and you can only guess whose going to take advantage of that." Jack started working faster.

"Can you speed this hunk of metal up any faster then to catch up to her!" "I'm pushing the reactor to 113 KBDs, twice as much as it's supposed to go, I've got every generator on maxed, I've vented every form of heat I can think of. The problem is if we do catch up to her, with no IFF, what do we look like?" Jack got a little shock when he inserted a chip in the wrong way. "Shit, things keep going from bad to worse then huh?" "That is the understatement of the year. We still have to catch her and get her to somehow stop. Can you at least get the communications grid to work again?"

Jack flipped a switch, saw the thing short circuit, pulled out, and grabbed a fire extinguisher as sparks flew out. "Um, give me a few more minutes…" and sprayed the area judiciously. "Too late, we hit a Salem Pocket. Brace for a big jump!" and Jack flew across the room to land in a chair seemingly waiting for him. Garrett was thrust hard into his pilot's chair as the sort of wormhole thrust them forward at an alarming rate. The ship around them groaned as it tried to keep together.

"Was that such a good idea to do?" Jack asked from the back. "Not really, but it's not like I really expected that thing to be there. Shit, at this rate, we'll be there about 4 minutes after she does… I hope she doesn't cause too much damage…" Jack pushed forward and slid back under the panel. He cleared out some of the foam. Luckily most of the parts were water proof, so he decided to place some other pieces in in hopes of getting the thing to at least wake up.

"Ok, I think I've got it working, but there's a problem" Jack said as he pulled a screwdriver out of his mouth. "Stop with the problems… what is it?" Garrett asked as they slowed down. Jack shifted his weight to compensate as they got out of the Salem Pocket. "Com grid is up, but I'm using the pelican's beacon signal to broadcast. It's a fairly limited range. We'll basically have to get up close and personal. I mean REALLY close" he emphasized. "With those point defense systems, I'd much rather hold off the covenant armada that comes through that tunnel she's made…"

Ilana disengaged from her jump trajectory. She was there. Earth looked quite odd to her. Unlike most other planets with a fully Terran environment, Earth had many split land masses. Unfortunately for her, that was the only thing she noticed aside from the orbital platforms surrounding the planet and the fleets wondering why she was there. The evac ships were attempting to enter the atmosphere on emergency land procedures, but she wouldn't dare let them get away. Not after the pain she's gone through.

Cruiser after cruiser started moving to block off her path to follow the ships into orbit, as she started to fire down at them. _If you want me to stop, give me back my heart you monsters…_she thought as tears started to well up in her eyes again, the thought of Garrett smiling at her floating around.

The Arbiter stood, watching the whole room along with 5 black armored elites. Everyone thought they were special operations elites, but he knew better. He had taken the liberty of wrangling up what was left of the council, 5 of the deadliest elites known. Along side some of them were some grunts, most notably the white suited officers. The grunts had earned their right to be in that room after sabotaging many ships controlled by the brutes during the grand split of the covenant. The elites found that they had earned the respect to be considered warriors for their capabilities to do things elites could not.

2 lone hunters stood with their backs to the wall, watching their surroundings. In the middle of the room was a large table, with 16 seats placed. On the other side of the room, 10 Spartans fully suited stood with weapons in hand, not pointed at the new Trinity members, but simply as guards. Both sides were uneasy as negotiations would soon happen. Humanity was going to attempt to sign the exiled elites, grunts, and hunters, into their small empire as allies. They were to meet under peaceful yet restricted terms in this base with some very high ranking officials of the human's side.

The Arbiter shifted uneasily. He had already seen what 1 Spartan was capable of, and there were 10 of them standing there on the other side, motionless. Suddenly the door on one side opened, and in filed 8 humans, 1 looked to be wearing a white military suit, quite distinguished, with a white cap. He seemed to be fairly old, with quite a few medals on his chest. He assumed this was the man named Lord Admiral Hood, core commander of the human defense fleets and ground forces.

The second was a smaller man, fairly old as well, with a neatly trimmed beard. On his shoulder was a band that had a unified flag stating president of the United Pacific Alliance. The third man was wearing a slightly red but very dark black suit, and seemed to have slanted eyes. He was wearing an arm band that showed he was the Prime Minister of the Eastern Federation. The Fourth person to enter was a young woman, mayhap in her late 20s, with a dark blue suit on and an armband stating she was president of United States of Mars. The fifth person was a somewhat middle aged man, with an odd scowl crossing his face. He wore no armband, however he would soon find out by whisper that that man was in charge of the Fortress World of Reach II.

2 more entered, 1 was Sergeant A.J. Johnson on behest of the Arbiter himself. Ever since their flight to get to Earth so long ago, he found that Johnson was to be respected and fairly honorable. The other, was a young woman, maybe early 20s, long dark hair, and was wearing glasses. The oddest thing was she was wearing a lab coat, and carrying a paper pad with a pen. And she also greeted each Spartan as if she had known them all their lives.

"Ah, Arbiter, it is an honor to meet you after all this time" Admiral Hood said putting out his hand. The Arbiter stared at the hand put out for him to shake, and wondered why he was doing so. "It's a greeting gesture, shake his hand" was whispered behind him from another elite. The Arbiter put his own hand, almost twice the size of Admiral Hood's, and shook. Introductions were done, and all sat down, save the guards and the elites, even the Arbiter himself could not sit due to the awkwardness of the chairs. "Now, to get down to business" The Asian man started saying…

"Oh shit" Garrett yelled as they dropped from jump. "What does that mean?" Jack yelped out from under a gunner seat that he was slave rigging to the main battle terminal. "HEADS UP!" and Garrett blew emergency thrusters on port side to keep from ramming into a cruiser. Jack slid across the room like he was on wheels, and slammed his head into a wall. Jack winced and yelped again as the pain hit, and he got up and stumbled back to where he was working.

The MAC cannon on the cruiser fired, a rumble and groan felt throughout the whole ship as the round flew by, toward what target they didn't know. "Realigning stabilizers, cross linking the sensors to battle terminal. You got those turrets working yet?" Garrett said as he turned off an overheating generator. "I think I got it, but I'm not an electrician. What does the funny purple light mean?" Garrett looked up from typing things in, looked behind his chair and stared at the purple light blinking. "Err, try pressing it" he said as another MAC round flew by, the cruiser changing course now to attack the frigate they were in.

"Garrett…" "I'm working on it, shut up and man the controls to shoot down anything they launch at us." "Doesn't that mean we're firing at the good guys?" "Since when is a cruiser firing a MAC cannon at us a good guy?" "Good Point."

Garrett changed his vector to go right behind an Orbital MAC platform to curb off some of the fire that was starting to drift towards them. Fighters were launching to try and intercept them, but the frigate was moving at quite a good speed. "There she is! Well, we found her, now to get up close and personal…" Garrett said as he punched in a direct flight path. Jack launched a salvo of archer missiles towards the engines of another frigate in hopes of getting them off their backs. No such luck. The frigate strafed along their starboard and ripped armor plating off with their auto cannons and lasers.

The ship groaned as damage was registered on a panel near Jack. "Armor on deck 6 Breached! Sealing the area off! Generators 2 and 9 are gone, we've lost 4 turrets!" Garrett went wide eyed as he weaved behind the frigate that just opened holes in them. _Jesus these guys mean business_ Garrett thought. Suddenly a red light went off as a lock was registered. Both Garrett and Jack looked at each other before Garrett blew emergency thrusters and ejected chaff aerosol mines to their port side. A plasma torpedo inched by the ship, searing off more armor and exploding in the mines. The ship was rocked hard as it barely evaded the explosion. He knew where that round had just come from. Ilana.

Ilana watched with fascination and coldness as a lone frigate seemed to be fired at by both her and the defense forces alike. _Maybe it is manned by the enemy that I seek to destroy… nevertheless; it will not survive the next attack_ she thought to herself as she fired another torpedo. Just as the torpedo flew towards the small ship, it veered off behind a cruiser and used it as a shield, the cruiser making contact with the explosive and becoming nothing more than debris and dead bodies.

_Hmm, this might take a bit more effort with this one. Interesting. It seems to be coming straight toward me, though why it would do so I haven't the faintest clue… maybe its crew believes they can somehow stop me._ She slowly moved the Nexus straight toward the frigate, confused slightly but more annoyed. The frigate sped through the ships, not really stopping to attack much, simply flying at maximum speed to get to her. _If they think they can self destruct near me in hopes of destroying me, I'll have to disappoint them, despite my willingness to die… not until I've finished my revenge…_

Garrett flew the ship as best he could, but he was an ex marine, not a navy flight officer. He blew what remained of the thruster backup tanks and ejected them, scrapping dangerously close to another cruiser as it fired its cannons attempting to drop them out of space. The rounds missed, but the shock wave was enough to rip apart one of the engines, making it incredibly difficult to maneuver. They were already moving at a very fast pace, so the engine wasn't needed to keep going, it was mostly there now to make hard turns and keep from getting chewed up by a salvo of archer missiles.

"Shit, shutting down power to engine 2, breach on internal nacelle, we got a sputter on internal sensors! I can't keep up with half this shit!" Jack yelled as the ship groaned again. Garrett was starting to get desperate, they had already gotten as close as they could, and they wouldn't survive another attack. "Can't you get out there with that armor of yours! This would have saved a lot of pain for us!" "Gee, you know how to fly this thing!" "Not really but… good point…" Garrett could have easily gotten outside and warned Ilana, but that would make Jack a goner. The other reason was the fact that the ship's insides were not made for a large mech to suddenly materialize inside of it, so he would have to get to a cargo bay, and by that time they would have been killed.

Jack fired everything he had, making the ship look somewhat like a porcupine as missiles flew in every direction, the ship's power flickering inside. Jack looked right into Garrett's eyes as they heard one sensor read out nearby. Target Nexus at 1500km. Garrett leapt towards the com station as Ilana fired point defense systems. "ILANA!" He yelled into the com mic.

Ilana was thrust from her cold demeanor as she heard his voice yell out towards her. The point defense beams narrowly missed the frigate as they carved barely under it. She stumbled back. _No, it couldn't be, could it? He survived? But how? My love… but I can't sense you on that ship…_ She scanned 3 times, with no luck at detecting his life signs. "Garrett? Are you really… alive?" She choked out as tears flowed freely. She heard a huge sigh of relief and a cheer in the background, what sounded like Jack. "Holy shit, we made it… stop firing damn it! Stop firing! Disengage from attacking!" Garrett yelled out to her. She immediately stopped all attacks as the Nexus floated majestically through space. "I… I cannot believe it, I could have sworn… I… I missed your voice so much…" she started to cry. "Well we're alive now and…" and the MAC round hit the small frigate.


End file.
